WeWork offers rent discounts as incentive to secure long-term leases

WeWork has reportedly offered some customers generous discounts on their rent if they agree to sign long-term lease agreements.

The co-working giant made the offers to reduce the number of cancellations during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

WeWork regularly uses price adjustments as incentives for its tenants, whom it calls members. The latest offers have been more frequent because of the virus, Bloomberg reported, but it is unclear how many offers were made. The co-working company reportedly targeted U.S. customers who were on month-to-month contracts — a group that comprises more than a quarter of WeWork’s membership.

The company has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for keeping its New York locations open despite a statewide order for all non-essential workers to stay home. As of Tuesday, there were more than 75,800 confirmed cases of coronavirus in New York, according to the state’s Department of Health.

A representative for WeWork told The Real Deal last week that some of its members were essential businesses, which exempted its locations from closure under the state’s guidelines. WeWork’s mail service also supported the exemption, they added. Administration officials did not respond to requests for clarification.

Last week, the company laid off 250 people in its development department in an effort to cut costs. [Bloomberg] — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan