Looking back on 2022

2022 has been a roller coaster of a year, we’ve had some magical and amazing moment, hit some roadblocks, swerved some corners and can now look back and recap the journey

January

January 2022 feels like a lifetime away! We were looking forward to welcoming DeskLodgers back after a well-deserved Christmas break and getting back into a productive routine. We had a few new(but not brand new!) additions to the team from our Old Market site, which sadly had to close in December 2021. Sabrina and Ruaridh joined the team at DeskLodge House, where they were welcomed with open arms by the team and the members. You can never have too much experience under one roof!

February

We were feeling the love in February, so we decided to treat our followers and run a giveaway through our social media channels. We gave away 5 free days of hotdesking for one lucky winner and a friend. The winner was announced on Valentine’s day! 

Another way we like to give back to our DeskLodgers is through our socials, where we provide some good food, and they provide a good chat. Each month we have two socials, a breakfast, and an evening social. The February Breakfast social was an especially successful one over at DeskLodge House. The team set out a yummy spread of goodies from Sandwich Sandwich, which went down a treat. Who doesn’t love a bacon sarnie in the morning?

March

In March, the DeskLodge team headed down to Reading for the quarterly away day. We spent the day at Fora, brainstorming how to make DeskLodge even better for our members. After a long day of hard work, we got our glad rags on and hit the town. We had a beautiful meal at Buenasado Steak House, where the service was top-notch. Then, we enjoyed a cocktail masterclass at Revolution, where a few chili forfeit shots were consumed! Overall, an evening filled with fun, laughter, and team bonding. March was definitely an exciting month, as we also announced that we had a new DeskLodge in the works! Beacon Tower in Bristol, formerly Colston Tower, will take our total space in the city to 58,000 sqft. We have big plans for this space and lots of room to play with.

April

It wouldn’t be April without a visit from the Easter Bunny. The lucky folks at DeskLodge House and DeskLodge Basingstoke got to take part in an Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny sneakily hid some tasty Easter eggs for the members and some cheeky clues to lead them to them. This went down a treat and everyone had a great time!

May

In May, there were some exciting developments in DeskLodge House. In our festival zone, we set up some new solo working booths, perfect for zoom calls or if you just want to get your head down and crack on. These proved very popular, as our members already loved conjuring up ideas while working in the festival zone.

June

It was a bit of a bittersweet moment at DeskLodge Basingstoke in June. After many years of coworking, one of our longest standing DeskLodgers, James Goadby, decided to move on. It’s always sad to see someone go, especially when they’ve been with us from the start. James had secured a commercial office, alongside his wife's business, so we were very happy for him! But when one door closes, another opens. We were happy to welcome Medena to DeskLodge Basingstoke in June, who fast became well-valued members of the community.

July

It was busy busy busy over at DeskLodge House in July. The team from True Start visited and treated us to a tasting day of this delicious coffee. True start is an ethical, B Corp-certified independent Bristol business and everyone loved the tasters so much that they are now the official suppliers of all DeskLodge sites.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for one month, there were even more changes at DeskLodge House in July. Plans were put in motion to adapt the breakout space on the ground floor, after noticing that more and more members needed space to take calls. We settled on some nifty book nooks, perfect for a little bit of extra privacy!

August

After 5 years of coworking, it was with heavy hearts that we had to close the doors to DeskLodge Basingstoke. We had many fun memories here over the years and had created a space filled with DeskLodgers who shared our vision and values. Basingstoke will always have a special place in our hearts, and you never know what the future may hold!

But as one-chapter finishes, another begins. In August we started developing our new space in Reading. After lots of planning and brainstorming, the builders got to work making the vision a reality. We wanted to be as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible, so we reused and recycled as much as we could from the Basingstoke site, such as carpet tiles, décor, and furniture.

September

To celebrate the end of summer, the team at DeskLodge House threw an exceptional social for their members. They invited all their DeskLodgers and their families, the more the merrier! The day was filled with fun activities, delicious food, and good music. We even had a few furry friends join the party! All the planning and hard work paid off, as we had nothing but positive feedback from everyone who attended.

Our Member Success blog in September featured Consortia, a fantastic team of recruiters who are long-time residents at DeskLodge House. We chose to feature them to highlight the amazing growth that they’ve had with us. From taking one of our part-time offices during the coronavirus pandemic to almost tripling in size in the space of two years. Keep up the good work guys!

October

In October, we welcomed a bunch of new members to the DeskLodge Team. With our kingdom expanding, we needed to recruit more motivated and productive individuals to join the gang. Tas, Stacey, Hayley, Rakhee, and Natalie What great additions they have all been!

With the cold weather slowly creeping in, the team at DeskLodge House knew they needed to do something to boost the morale of their members. So, they introduced Hot Choctober, which consisted of two stations filled with extra goodies to banish away the Autumn blues. It was such a great success, and the members loved it –who wouldn’t? Safe to say that Hot Choctober will be returning next year.

November

Oh, what a night! Our Directors Jamie and Siobhan were excited to represent DeskLodge at the Flexible Space Association Awards 2022. We were Finalists for 3 awards, Workspace Design, Service Innovation, and Excellence in Customer Service. We were delighted to be awarded the Excellence in Customer Service 2022 (Southwest) for DeskLodge House. A well-deserved award, as the team at DeskLodge House always go above and beyond for their members.

December

December saw the return of the Advent Calendar, a much-anticipated tradition here at DeskLodge. Each year, we set up an adult-size advent calendar and fill each pocket with all kinds of goodies. One lucky winner gets selected each day to receive a prize and to have a snap taken for our social media channels. I hear the lucky folks over at DeskLodge House even got a visitor from the man himself, Father Christmas!

December also marked the month that we opened the doors of DeskLodge Sovereign House! After months of hard work, we could finally stand back and look at what we’ve created. To celebrate, we held a Mince pie and mulled wine afternoon to give the Reading community a sneak peek at our exciting new space. We had fun welcoming some new faces and showing them the magic of DeskLodge. All while enjoying some festive treats! Not a bad way to end the year.

Of course, this isn’t all we got up to in the year 2022 - we’d be here all day if we went through all the ins and outs. Make sure you follow us on social media to stay up to date with everything DeskLodge in 2023. Or if you want to experience all this first-hand, why not sign up for a 2-Free Day trial at a DeskLodge near you? We want to welcome as many new DeskLodgers as possible in the New Year and grow the community. Happy New Year and see you on the other side!