The Pan Am and Parapan Am Games begin in Toronto on July 10, 2015. The Pan Am Games are the world’s third largest international multi-sport Games, only surpassed in size and scope by the Olympic Summer Games and the Asian Games. Many of the teams from the 41 countries will be competing in 51 sports (36 Pan Am sports and 15 Parapan Am sports). With over 7,500 athletes participating, many have already began renting temporary office space in Toronto.
For many of the teams, games of this magnitude cannot happen without the help of coaches, trainers and other staff – but finding team headquarters is also a necessity. While the athletes are housed in the Athletes Village, many of their support staff are not even able to stay in the same hotel, so they need space to work together.
With any major international sporting event, each country sends along publicists, diplomats and even technicians who analyze not only their team performance, but also their competitors. Having all these people necessary to the team also necessitates having a place for them to work together. The best solutions are office business centres that offer short-term rentals to accommodate the support team during the games.
The 2015 Pan Am Games will involve municipalities stretching from Oshawa to Welland, which are about 194 km apart. This also does not take into account the other municipalities that are north of Toronto that are also hosting events. Teams from around the Americas have already started to book office space in office business centres across Toronto, but many have looked closely at Telsec Business Centres because of its central location and numerous amenities. It also helps that Telsec is very close and accessible to the Athletes’ Village. Telsec is also close to many the Rogers Centre that will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as some of the sporting events.
Temporary/short term office space at an office business centre is not just ideal for visiting sports organizations from various countries like those coming to Toronto for the Pan Am Games. Not only have small businesses been known to use these serviced offices as interim office space, but also larger companies and newly arriving established businesses rent temporary office space at these serviced office business centres. A number of years ago, a large satellite radio company from the United States rented a large team space at Telsec until its permanent office space could be sourced and modified for their needs.
Many businesses (large and small) find it difficult to find short-term rental office space, simply because most landlords want a long-term lease. These businesses do not want to settle for just any office space; they want to create a home for their business that accommodates their needs and matches their corporate lifestyle.
The other common problems faced by businesses looking for temporary or interim office space are:
- Renting office furniture for the short-term can be almost as expensive as purchasing the same furniture.
- The cost of setting up a telephone system that will have to be moved eventually to their new permanent office address.
- Not having a business address that is desirable.
- Having to hire support staff before a business actually needs them.
Some of the advantages of dealing with an office business centre for short-term and temporary office space:
- No capital expenditures required – office furniture and access to office equipment is there.
- No need to hire a receptionist, which is included.
- Free access to boardrooms and meeting rooms.
- A prestigious business address.
- A-la-carte secretarial and support staff services.
Short term or Temporary offices are not just for businesses looking for a permanent business address; they are also used by companies who need satellite offices for a team that is working on a special project. These are often cases where a company has a project and does not want it to interrupt their regular office environment or the way the office work will flow. This is especially true if the project requires team space and the primary office is not set up to allow a team to work on a project together in that same physical space.
Let us also not forget another important reason why companies look for temporary/short-term office space for rent. It is when a disaster happens and they need a place to keep the business going. A company can have its telephones re-directed to an office business centre within an hour and have staff working at desks within that same time span. Using a service office facility that is set up and ready to go, customers may not even notice that the company has had a problem or has moved its offices!
