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Redcliffe-based hot-desking firm ranked among ‘best places to work’
Hot-desking firm DeskLodge has entered the new year being named as one of the “happiest workplaces” in the country.
In a recent WorkL Happiest Workplaces List, the company raked up five awards, including the ‘happiest workplace’, ‘best for wellbeing’ and ‘most inclusive’. Furthermore, DeskLodge ranked 53 out of 60,000 workplaces in the world.
This comes after a fruitful year of operation where the company was named in The Times Best Places to Work 2023.
The company was founded by Tom Ball in 2015 in Old Market, before moving to the six-floor premises in Redcliffe near Bristol Temple Meads in 2019.
Ball received his spark of inspiration when Google opened its office in London back in 2003. He was taken aback with the innovative approach Google adopted where the offices were “filled with unusual and eccentric workspaces”. For him, this was a clear departure from the preconceived notion of office as a dreary and monotonous space which people loathed.
DeskLodge has been named as one of the ‘happiest workplaces’ in the country
Ball was convinced then that the concept of an imaginative workspace is not totally “off the grid” but an essential tool for creative crews and higher productivity.
DeskLodge currently offers a range of co-working and private office spaces with various specifications to support the individuals and businesses it hosts. The meeting rooms and offices could vary from a front room with a fireplace or a quirky space fashioned as a submarine.
The concept caught on with many freelancing professionals and companies over the years and attracted many companies to start their satellite operations and host conferences.
Recently, DeskLodge was the venue for the inaugural Bristol Open Silicon and Software meeting, which featured speakers such as Matt Venn, Gajinder Panesar and Sean Redmond.
The success at Redcliffe Way premises led to opening a second site in Bristol to cater to the demands of the growing clientele. The second site was opened in November at Beacon Tower and occupies a few floors and a roof terrace.
The site at Beacon Tower is made up of a blend of 26 private offices, 289 dedicated desks, 60 hot desks, six meeting rooms with capacity for 5-12 people, as well as nine team booths and eight phone booths.
On the opening of a second facility in Bristol, Ball said: “Bristol is renowned for being one of Europe’s creative hubs, and we think that DeskLodge in Beacon Tower will offer some of the region’s most exciting start-ups and entrepreneurs an environment that they can grow and thrive in.”
DeskLodge opned a second site at Beacon Tower
The site also includes a series of themed areas such as Egyptian Gods, Merlin’s Cave, a tardis and banquet hall which garnered positive reviews from clients.
For the hot-desking firm, 2023 ended on a high as they were named winners of the Coworking Spaces category at the Bristol Property Awards.
At national level, DeskLodge were named winners in ‘the community’ category at England Business Awards 2023. It also bagged Flexible Space Association Award under the “Environment, Social and Governance” category.
DeskLodge won a raft of awards for 2023 including Flexible Space Association Award
On DeskLdoge’s journey, Ball said: “DeskLodge was designed from the ground up specifically for the people of Bristol, to be the perfect fit for the diverse and eclectic nature of the community here. We opened our first Bristol location in 2015, then added DeskLodge House in 2019. When the building at One Temple Way needed to be vacated, we found a great new location in Beacon Tower, which officially opened in November 2023 with a launch party attended by over 200 of Bristol business’s best.
“ Visitors and members are wowed by our amazing designs and space enhancements (the Hobbit Hole for silent work, or a meeting in The Submarine anyone?), as well as our regular socials and pop up events for the DeskLodge community. We’re excited to build on our recent successes and make DeskLodge a buzzword in Bristol for anyone looking for office space, coworking or meeting rooms.”
All photos: DeskLodge
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