As a freelancer who works without a fixed workspace, I used to use the WeWork membership. After a few months of use, I decided to move out due to accumulating disappointing experiences (such as not having coffee to offer guests on the weekends, and sweating during meetings due to air conditioning not working). Now, I’m using PAPPA, and I thought I would write about my coworking space journey.
First of all, PAPPA has an exceptional cost-effectiveness from a freelancer’s point of view. It feels like a coworking space that is perfectly tailored for the picky tastes of Koreans.
- You can have unlimited coffee, including milk, even on weekends. (Occasionally, they run out of milk at popular locations.)
- This might seem trivial, but as a freelancer who sometimes has to hold meetings on weekends, I have had experiences where I couldn’t offer coffee to clients and felt embarrassed. Experiencing such discomfort made me feel like I wasn’t receiving proper treatment despite paying my own money.
- They maintain a comfortable temperature with air conditioning on weekends, so it’s not too hot or too cold. (I didn’t sweat during a meeting.)
- Surprisingly, WeWork didn’t have air conditioning on weekends, and I had an experience where I was sweating during a meeting. It may seem like a small detail, but as a customer, I wondered why I had to have such an experience despite paying my own money.
- You can use the space by making a reservation only when you want to use it, even though you can’t use it every day.
- PAPPA offers a monthly pass that you can use every day and a total of 10 times, but they also offer daily passes that you can use generously for a few months. Since I don’t have to go out every day, I found it more satisfying to use it generously and utilize it 100% rather than having experiences where I could only use 50% for a month.
- However, at 25,000 won per day, it’s not a small amount, so I only use it when I need to work for 3-4 hours.
- Instead of a card key, they have a mobile access key that uses Bluetooth/NFC. It’s a new innovation!
- Nowadays, I’m designing digital concierge systems and reservation systems for projects, so maybe that’s why I felt that PAPPA’s use of “Air Pop,” a Bluetooth/NFC mobile key solution, is the most innovative among coworking spaces.
- WeWork required a physical key, and I thought that PAPPA was the most innovative solution. It’s really convenient because all you need is your mobile phone.
As a wandering freelancer, I’m very satisfied that each desk has a wireless charger and outlet. They even have a sense of humor with providing testers for cosmetics in place of hand cream! They also provide OA equipment.
However, from a planner’s point of view, I still feel that there are some uncomfortable and inadequate aspects of PAPPA.
(As there is no other alternative, I close my eyes and hope for a quick update. Let me summarize.)
- There is an app for regular membership, but why can’t I make a daily reservation on the app?
- By the way, the PAPPA website is quite simple, so there are many missing functions and the UX is complicated.
- For example, when you log in to the website, the logged-in screen and the screen when you’re not logged in overlap, which can be confusing. Also, after making a reservation for a daily pass, it’s difficult to make a reservation for another location on the same day.
To summarize, the author, a freelancer who had previously used a membership at WeWork, tried out Papa Five Spot and was pleasantly surprised by the great value it offered. Some of the advantages of Papa Five Spot included unlimited coffee even on weekends, reliable air conditioning, and flexible booking options. The author also appreciated the mobile access key and the useful amenities available at the workspace.
However, there were some minor drawbacks to using Papa Five Spot, such as the web-only booking system for daily reservations and the inconvenience of having to use a mobile key to access everything, including the trash bin. Overall, though, the author was satisfied with the experience and would recommend it to other freelancers.
The author also had a few suggestions for improvements, such as adding a snack bar and making the reservation process for meeting rooms more convenient. The author also suggested lowering the price of the daily pass, which currently costs 25,000 won.