Coworking owners can increase revenue by diversifying beyond desk fees — adding monetised digital signage, premium membership tiers, event hire, virtual office services, and targeted upsells. The most resilient spaces combine recurring membership income with passive revenue streams that generate money without adding operational load.
Desk and hot-desk fees are the default revenue model for most coworking spaces, but they're also the most volatile. Occupancy fluctuates with economic conditions, remote work trends, and local competition. In France, the coworking market has expanded rapidly — according to the Observatoire de l'Immobilier Durable, flexible workspace supply in Paris alone grew by over 30% between 2020 and 2023, intensifying price pressure across the sector.
Operators who depend on a single revenue line are exposed whenever occupancy dips. The smarter model layers multiple income streams, each with different risk profiles. Some are demand-dependent (event hire), others are passive (advertising revenue), and others are stickier than standard memberships (virtual office registrations).
The fastest-growing passive revenue opportunity for coworking spaces is monetised digital signage — turning screens already installed in common areas into an advertising income stream. Platforms like Framen connect coworking spaces (and other venue types including gyms and hospitality) to a programmatic DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) advertising network, where brands pay to display campaigns on venue screens.
The model is straightforward. Framen provides and installs the screens at no upfront cost to the venue. The coworking space hosts the hardware and earns a share of ad revenue from campaigns running on those screens. There's no technical management required — Framen handles scheduling, content delivery, and reporting end-to-end.
Advertisers actively purchasing inventory through networks like Framen include brands such as Adidas, BNP Paribas, Trade Republic, Premier Protein, and OTTO. For French coworking operators, the BNP Paribas connection is particularly relevant — it signals that major domestic financial brands are already spending in this channel.
Coworking members are a high-value demographic: professionals, founders, freelancers, and remote workers — typically with higher-than-average disposable incomes and strong brand engagement. This is one of the most in-demand audience profiles in DOOH advertising.
Dwell time matters too. Members spending four to eight hours in a coworking space generate far more ad exposure than a billboard viewer. That sustained exposure justifies premium CPMs (cost per thousand impressions), which means better revenue per screen for the venue. By comparison, standard OOH placements — bus shelters, metro panels — have average dwell times measured in seconds.
Virtual office services are one of the highest-margin upsells available to coworking operators, particularly in France where having a registered business address (siège social) is a legal requirement for most company types.
A virtual office package typically includes a professional address, mail handling, and optional call answering — priced anywhere from €30 to €150 per month per client. This service requires minimal space and almost no labour once set up. According to research published by GCUC (Global Coworking Unconference Conference), virtual office revenue can represent 10–20% of total income for well-optimised spaces.
| Upsell Service | Typical Monthly Revenue Potential | Operational Complexity |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual office (address + mail) | €30–€150 per client | Low |
| Meeting room hire | €20–€80 per hour | Low–Medium |
| Private office upgrades | €500–€2,000+ per month | Medium |
| Event space hire (evenings/weekends) | €200–€1,500 per event | Medium |
| Podcast/recording studio hire | €25–€75 per hour | Low (after setup) |
| Digital signage ad revenue | Passive, no management overhead | Very Low |
Meeting room hire is already common, but many spaces underutilise evening and weekend capacity. Renting space to local businesses for team workshops, product launches, or networking events in Paris, Lyon, or Marseille fills gaps in the schedule without cannibalising day membership revenue.
Digital screens in coworking spaces serve a dual function: generating ad revenue and improving the member experience, which directly impacts retention. Framen's platform allows operators to run their own content alongside advertiser campaigns — promoting internal events, new services, community announcements, or member spotlights.
Better-informed members feel more connected to the space. According to Deskmag's Global Coworking Survey, community and atmosphere rank among the top three reasons members choose one coworking space over another. Screens that reinforce that community feeling — while simultaneously generating passive revenue — represent a double return on a single asset.
As industry consultant Jamie Russo, founder of Everything Coworking, has noted: "The operators who are winning in 2024 are the ones treating their space like a media and experience platform, not just a real estate product."
Start with the initiatives that require the least operational change and lowest upfront cost. Passive revenue streams like digital signage advertising should come first — zero CapEx, no management overhead, and the network of advertisers is already active.
Follow with virtual office services if you're not already offering them. In France, the demand is structurally guaranteed by company registration law. Then optimise meeting room and event space utilisation before investing in new physical build-outs.
Each step adds a revenue line with a different risk profile. The result is a more resilient business that doesn't depend entirely on desk occupancy rates.
Yes. Even a single screen in a busy common area generates ad impressions at scale over the course of a day. Platforms like Framen work with venues of different sizes, and because there's no upfront hardware cost, the revenue is pure margin from day one.
Pricing typically ranges from €30 to €150 per month depending on what's included — address only, mail scanning, or full mail forwarding. Research local competitors (other espaces de coworking and business centres in your city) and price at or slightly below the mid-market rate to build volume quickly.
When managed correctly, it doesn't negatively impact members at all. Framen curates ad content to match the venue context, so campaigns feel relevant rather than intrusive. Spaces can also schedule member-facing content to run alongside ads, reinforcing community rather than interrupting it.
For most spaces, yes. Evening and weekend event hire monetises capacity that would otherwise sit empty. The main requirement is a clear booking system and a simple venue-hire agreement. Many French coworking operators use tools like Skedda or Archie to manage room and event bookings without adding headcount.
Digital signage revenue begins as soon as screens are live and the space is connected to an ad network — typically within weeks of installation. Virtual office services can be launched within days using existing infrastructure. Meeting room and event hire optimisation depends on how actively you market spare capacity, but incremental gains are usually visible within one to two months.
