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willing to chat with each other on Slack [a month, or year-long leases, the two Airbnb units
messaging service] as well as in person. When will be an experiment. “We want to study this and
you arrive, there’s a real sense of community so see what people really want because there are a
you immediately feel plugged into a group of lot of people who travel who want to travel in a
fellow New Yorkers. We want people living there way that’s more ingrained in the local
to look at it as a home.” environment. Will our members like the fact that
there are new ideas and new people being
Pricing for Common starts at $1,340 a month and brought in constantly? That’s something we’re
Hargreaves said the company received more going to try to learn from.”
than 5,000 applications for only 100 or so
available, fully furnished spots in its three Unlike traditional accommodations for corporate
Brooklyn locations. Membership includes weekly travelers like extended stay hotels or serviced
cleaning services, high-speed Wi-Fi, shared apartments, Evans said Commonspace isn’t as
kitchen and bathroom staples, utilities, co- formal, and it’s not just a place to stay. “People
working spaces, and free on-site laundry. want more social, curated experiences.

Upstate, in Syracuse, New York, Commonspace is With Commonspace, you get more community
following a somewhat similar residential model to engagement.”
Common, but two of its 21 rooms are being
specifically set aside for nightly $100 rentals on On the second floor of Commonspace is
Airbnb for travelers, especially business travelers Syracuse CoWorks, a coworking space that Evans
who may be in town for a project. co-founded. Monthly memberships for
Commonspace start at $800 a month, and the
Founder Troy Evans said that while most of the units, all of which have their own private
units will be for month-to-month leases, six-

An apartment in WeLive’s first location in Manhattan.

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