Coworking spaces allow people to come together in an office setting, even if they don’t all work together. People can get out of the house, connect with others, and create a healthy border between work life and home life. For entrepreneurs and freelancers, coworking spaces can be great for mental health, as well as productivity. That’s where Breather comes in.
Breather is a company making noise in the coworking space, as the Canadian-started venture is now making inroads into the United States. Unlike other coworking spaces, Breather stresses short-term, daily, or even hourly rentals, letting workers visiting a different city find a comfortable workspace quickly.
In this article, we’ll look at Breather, how it got its start, and where it’s going. We’ll also show you how to book a space and answer some frequently asked questions. By the end, you should have a good sense of coworking spaces, Breather, and how you can find office space when traveling by using this service.
A Brief Guide to Coworking Spaces
Coworking allows several workers or companies to share office space. It gives smaller companies and freelancers the ability to share the expenses of office space — rent, utilities, printers, custodians, etc. — thus enabling cost savings for everyone.
In studies on the subject, the biggest challenge facing remote workers wasn’t productivity — in fact, a Stanford study found remote workers were more productive — but isolation. People who worked from home felt more disconnected from other people. Another issue facing remote workers was the inability to distinguish between home life and work life. When you work from your couch, it’s hard to “sign off” at the end of the day. You tend to just keep working or feel like you can work at any time. Having a separate physical space for home life and office life can pay major dividends for mental health.
Because of this, many coworking spaces not only stress a physical space but take efforts to establish a community within their office. Spaces host happy hours, lunches, and more to try and give workers a more human connection and a sense of camaraderie.
There are several types of coworking communities and spaces. Some don’t even have office space but rather invite members to work together in coffee shops or public libraries, putting the focus much more on community as opposed to building amenities. Some, like WeWork, push for long-term tenants who work regularly from the office. Others, like Breather, are more interested in the short-term.
Everything You Need to Know About Breather
Breather belongs to a subset of coworking spaces called “space-as-a-service.” Instead of looking to build a community of long-term renters all sharing a space, Breather works a bit more like Airbnb — they let potential renters see office spaces, then book them for the day or even the hour. They do allow monthly leases as well, but if you look at their site or app, you’ll see that the stress is much more on the short term. Breather has become a popular app for travelers for this reason.
Breather got its start in Montreal, where it was launched by co-founder Caterina Rizzi and former CEO Julien Smith. In January 2019, former Tomorrow Sleep founder Bryan Murphy stepped in as the new CEO of the company. This move came a few months after Breather had a major round of funding — $45 million in Series C round — which was led by Menlo Ventures and had investment from Temasek Holdings, Ascendas-Singbridge, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
The company is, at its heart, a real estate company. It buys up buildings and building space in a growing number of major cities, then leases out these “Breather Spaces” to people looking for either a full-time coworking space or somewhere to work while visiting a city. They are also expanding into the conference and event space industry, letting companies book larger rooms or meeting spaces for offsites, awards ceremonies, or other big gatherings. Private office bookings give you Wi-Fi, bathrooms, desks, and a host of other amenities, depending on the space.
Unlike some other coworking spaces, Breather only books out private rooms and offices. Other places will offer flexible workspaces which let renters find a place to work in community areas, but Breather doesn’t embrace this model. They only book private rooms.
How to Book a Workspace
Breather is available on their website and on their app, which you can download for iOS and Android devices. It will feel familiar to anyone who’s ever booked a place to stay with Airbnb — the platform is designed in a similar way.
On its homepage, Breather has two main offerings: workspaces and office spaces.
Workspaces are temporary homes for visitors looking for a room or meeting space for short-term rentals. “Office spaces” refer to more permanent leasing arrangements for you or your company. We’ll focus on booking a workspace, as office space booking generally is a more long-term commitment and thus a more involved process that requires you to connect with a leasing agent.
To book a workspace, go to the drop-down menu in the top left-hand corner of their website. From that menu, you’ll see a list of cities they’re available in. It looks like this:
Find and select the city you want to book in. For the purposes of this article, let’s pretend we’re looking for a private workspace in New York City. On the next page, you’ll see a host of offerings they have. It looks like this:
With each listing, you can not only see a photo of the space, you can see the daily rate, how many people each space can fit, and the star rating from reviewers who have previously booked the space.
If you scroll down, you can also start to get more specific with your search. At the bottom, you will see that they let you choose the purpose of the space you want to book. You can choose a small space, a place for an off-site meeting or a larger space for a workshop or seminar. Let’s select a small space.
As you can see, you get more specialized listings now, but you also get the opportunity to filter your results even more. In the top menu, you can select how many attendees need the space, plus sort by neighborhood and amenities needed.
Let’s say you’ve found something that looks promising. Click on the photo, and you’ll be taken to a page with more information.
On this page, you have a ton of information and options. You get to understand the space better and see a full list of amenities. There are more photos to review. You can also see not only the daily rate but the hourly rate as well. And, in the bottom right-hand corner, you get to look up info to book the space monthly if you’re interested. What’s nice about Breather is you can reserve the space for free and cancel anytime up until two hours before your reservation begins, and you won’t be charged until you’re in the room.
When you hit reserve, you’ll be taken to a calendar that lets you select dates and times of your stay. Input those details, give them a credit card to reserve a room, and you’ve done it. You’ve booked a workspace with Breather.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve gone over coworking spaces, Breather, and how to book a room with the service. Let’s get to some frequently asked questions.
1. Where does Breather have office space?
Breather currently has workspaces available in NYC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., London, Montreal, and Toronto.
2. What companies have used Breather?
Tons of major tech companies have booked office space using Breather, including Google, Facebook, Apple, Spotify, Blue Apron, Apple, and more.
3. Can I tour an office before I book?
Absolutely. Breather has office managers on site who can give you a free tour of an office space before you book. If you’re looking to host a major conference or event, we highly suggest checking out the room in person before booking.
Book Office Space With Breather
Coworking spaces allow freelancers and companies to work remotely while still feeling connected to people outside. Breather lets small teams and freelancers find temporary or permanent space to come together and get stuff done. With easy booking, free reservations, and flexible times for booking, it’s a smart solution when you need a coworking space on the go.
