Key trends in Jakarta’s flex office space market 

Flex offices account for 5.2% of the total leased space in Sudirman CBD as of Q1.

Flexible office spaces have gained popularity as a result of the changing work culture during the pandemic. With companies shifting to hybrid work setups and digital transformations accelerating, flex spaces have become part of the norm.

According to JLL, the “flexible” features, e.g., short-term leases, ease of usage, start-up ecosystems, etc., offered by the operators and shaped by the communities are reasons to make it official. The same trend can be seen in Jakarta's Sudirman Central Business District.

Here's more from JLL:

The SCBD (Sudirman Central Business District) is one of Jakarta’s “golden triangle” hubs, the acclaimed agglomeration of the nation’s economic activities.

Half of the 16 office buildings in the SCBD area have leased space to at least one flex-space operator, either for conventional serviced/private offices or for sharing/dedicated co-working desks. As of 1Q22, there were 12 flex-space operators occupying around 25,000 sqm or approximately 5.2% of the total leased space in those SCBD Grade A office buildings. The areas managed by flex-space operators range from a compact 85 sqm to a multilevel 7,200 sqm in one building.

Are there any notable characteristics?

The 12 flex-space operators in SCBD have a variety of tenants. Each user has its demand based on working style and business model, creating different co-working space requirements. The operators have adapted to tenants’ needs. They are providing allocations between sharing/dedicated desk (“hot desk”) and serviced/private office, ranging from 1:3 to 1:15 (1 seat of “hot desk” for 15 seats of serviced/private office), as well as serviced/private office space without the “hot desk” feature.

Most flex-space prices depend on the facilities and amenities requested by the office tenants or workspace users. Hence, the operators offer a range of prices to suit the supply-demand dynamic. The price for sharing/dedicated desks, the so-called “hot desks”, ranged from approximately IDR 750,000 to IDR 3,000,000 (USD 52 to USD 210) per seat per month in early 2022. Meanwhile, for serviced/private offices, the price ranges from IDR 1,950,000 to IDR 6,000,000 (USD 136 to USD 420) per seat per month (excluding any taxes).

Flex space as today’s workplace

Flex space is influencing the workplace perspectives around the world. Many multinational companies have started adjusting their workplace culture, influenced by trending demands and emerging specifications. The SCBD trends indicate that the serviced/private office is still the preferred form of flex space, with technology and digital start-ups becoming the prominent drivers of today’s workplaces.