“Regus Express” workhubs are open for business in 70 Shell service stations in and around Berlin, with facilities ranging from wifi hotspots to docking stations, modern business lounges and meeting rooms. All services at the stations can be accessed with a Regus Businessworld Card.
Regus is fast becoming the forerunner in ‘third place’ working – developing a global network of business services at non-traditional locations such as transport and retail hubs across Europe that cater specifically for flexible and mobile workers.
Berlin has been selected by Regus and Shell as the first city-wide trial, which could well be extended in the future. The two companies already have a partnership in France and have opened a Regus Express on the autoroute southwest of Paris. Regus recently launched a series of workhubs on the rail network in The Netherlands with NS trains and is planning to do so with SNCF in France, and partnered with Extra Motorway Service Area Group and Staples stationery stories in the UK to trial business centres on the UK motorway network and retail environment.
Phil Kemp, Global Managing Director at Regus Third Place, comments: “Globally there is surging demand for more productive ways of working on the move. Two thirds of professionals work more on the move than they used to, and we see this reflected very clearly in the way that our one million customers’ requirements are changing. They want to work where, when and how it suits them.
“In practical terms, mobile workers want drop-in workspace to meet clients or suppliers in a professional setting, or to work in peace and quiet between their meetings, or to print documents and pick up parcels. The Berlin launch of workhubs at the roadside is an exciting move for Regus and Shell, and we look forward to announcing further ‘third place’ developments soon.”
Stephan Faul, District Manager and Project Manager at Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, adds: “Our success at German service stations is due not only to our range of differentiated fuels and our CLUBSMART bonus programme, but also to comprehensive service. We are always working to expand our services for customers, to serve their needs even better. The fact is that our customers are becoming more and more mobile. That means they want to use the service stations not only to buy fuel, to make purchases at the shop and to have a snack at the bistro, but if possible they also want to use it for work on the move. We wish to offer our customers a really professional service, so we have decided to cooperate with Regus, the leading provider of flexible workspace solutions.”
