Feature releases throughout the second quarter help coworking spaces prioritize member safety, manager control and visibility

In a few short weeks, everything changed for coworking spaces. Most of the gathering places that serve as community hubs for work, events, networking, childcare and connection were forced to abruptly close their doors to combat the spread of coronavirus, leaving coworking space managers and members with a lot of questions. In response to the flood of membership and event cancelations, requests to pause billing and concerns about member safety that coworking spaces have faced, Proximity released 13 new features in 12 weeks.

“When it became clear that the world was changing for us and for every one of our customers, we shifted our focus to simply be helpful,” says Josh Hudnall, Chief Design Officer for Proximity. “Our job is to make coworking easier. We looked through every request coming in from our customers, every challenge we were facing with our own spaces, and did a lot of observation to find the most useful ways we could support our network during the hardest time many of their businesses will ever face.”

Here’s the rundown on Proximity’s new features that help coworking space operators manage and support their member communities during the coronavirus outbreak.

Door Lockdown

Proximity’s Open system allows flexible, digital door access for members to enter a coworking space via mobile app. Access and permissions can be customized by membership type, but in an emergency, managers need a way to quickly lockdown a coworking space and halt all member access. With lockdown mode, owners and managers can still unlock doors with Proximity’s mobile app (as well as a pin code or key fob) but nobody else can unlock any door using any method.

Pause All Billing, Registrations and Reservations

Coworking spaces process a lot of transactions throughout the month as members pay their monthly bills, new members join or reservations are booked for meeting spaces. As a COVID-19 precaution, many coworking spaces were required to temporarily shut down, leaving owners with tough decisions to make about billing members during mandatory closures. Proximity’s pause feature allows managers to temporarily stop charges and new transactions and provides time and space to develop a plan for billing and communication to members.

Contact Prior to Cancellation

As an opt-in feature, members can now be prompted to contact a community manager prior to membership cancellation. This creates an opportunity for a conversation which may lead to alternative outcomes such as a temporary pause instead of a cancellation.

Site-Wide Banner Alert

This feature allows coworking spaces to prominently display updates and information to members on the space’s Proximity site, including closures, hours of operation or reopening dates. The banner supports external links so owners can direct members to additional details about how the coworking space is handling coronavirus concerns.

Member Check-In 

For reopened coworking spaces, managers need an understanding of who’s in the space each day. Members can now check in with Proximity Wave, a greeting system that displays check-in details on a tablet at the coworking space entrance. Members are automatically checked in when they unlock a door, check in for a room reservation or redeem a punch pass. Managers can also check members in. This new feature helps managers clearly understand coworking space usage during the COVID-19 outbreak when health and safety are paramount.

Member Self-Certification

Proximity Wave now includes an optional self-certification message that prompts members to voluntarily certify they’re not showing signs of sickness. The message can be customized or turned on and off by the coworking space manager and provides a proactive reminder that members should be mindful of any symptoms when working at the coworking space.

Member Roll

This new feature provides coworking space managers with a simple overview of monthly membership dues, including all monthly recurring charges, upcoming billing dates and any discounts. This report helps managers get an easier snapshot of revenue at a glance as memberships and billing change frequently during the uncertainty of coronavirus.

Door Access with Reservable Resources 

Digital door access can now be granted with the reservation of a reservable resource such as a conference room. Guests coming in for reserved meeting time get door access 15 minutes before the meeting begins and managers have the option to approve access. This means managers can control access for guests without having to be at the coworking space to greet each visitor.

Enhanced Manager Capabilities 

Managers using the Proximity platform can now register new members or book reservations on their behalf for reservable resources such as conference rooms. These new features help coworking spaces provide a higher level of personal service during a time when members need a little extra support.

Easily Find a Community Manager

Coworking space community managers are now prominently displayed at the top of the member directory for each coworking space. This helps members find the right contact for questions or support as more COVID-19 communication occurs at coworking spaces.

Future Start Date for New Members

Working from home is definitely not for everybody. Coworking spaces will increasingly play an important role for workers who still can’t return to their workplaces but need the amenities of an office. Proximity now supports a future membership start date so coworking spaces can sign up new members as soon as they’re interested in joining, even if they won’t be working at the coworking space immediately.

Event Details for Registrants

One of the most popular capabilities of the Proximity platform is support for coworking space events. Now that nearly all events have gone virtual, event managers can now include information for events that will only be displayed to registered attendees, such as a Zoom link. Registrants also receive a confirmation email including the relevant details about the event.

Accept Donations

For coworking communities who want to collect money for a cause, the Proximity platform now supports donations. Members can donate through the coworking space’s Proximity site, and guests can donate without needing to create a Proximity login.

The Proximity Platform

A network of more than 350 coworking spaces around the world use Proximity to manage digital door access, reservations, billing, events and much more. Try the Proximity platform for free or schedule a demo to learn more about the new features we’ve added to help coworking spaces respond to COVID-19.