Just like any other industry, the executive suites industry has a specific terminology that can be slightly confusing to someone in search of available office space. Luckily, the AdvantEdge blog is here to help! So polish up your office lexicon with the following lingo*:
Executive Suite - a set of individual offices sublet from a larger suite of offices. The executive suite proprietor rents entire floors/buildings and leases the smaller spaces (included with all the basic amenities of a traditional office) to businesses that don't need or want a large space. There is no standard agreement on terminology as executive suites go by many different names like: open plan office, serviced office, office business center, office suite, business center, executive office, furnished office, flexible office, managed office, shared-office space and office hoteling.
Flexsuite - a multi-office suite that includes many of the same amenities present in executive suite packages. In the event of company growth, a business may choose to upgrade from an executive space to a flexsuite.
Private Office – traditionally an enclosed work space designed for a single person. There is a subtle (and often confusing) distinction though between individual offices in a shared space and an exclusively-owned space, as both are often referred to as “private”.
Virtual Office - a combination of off-site live communication and address services that allow businesses to reduce traditional office costs while maintaining professionalism. Frequently the term is confused with “office business centers” or “executive suites” which demand a conventional lease, whereas a true virtual office does not require that expense.
We hope these definitions help clarify any lexical misunderstandings you may have about the executive suites industry. It’s important to stress that these definitions aren’t used in the same manner universally by industry professionals. In fact there is an intra-industry debate regarding the many variations of “executive suite” and their interchangeability. So stay tuned for further in-depth analysis and soon you’ll be well on your way to finding the right office space for you (regardless of terminology).
*Definitions courtesy of Wikipedia
