With Totally Outsourced Furniture, HOFF realizes a working environment between hotel and office

Nederlands - HOFF - Totally Outsourced Furniture

What would the combination of a Hotel and an Office produce? Exactly what Sipke Feenstra envisions in the World Trade Center at Amsterdam's Zuidas. Here, HOFF offers a luxury flexible office environment with a very high level of service. Because this concept requires far-reaching flexibility, Alvero is being brought in as a partner. For Alvero, HOFF offers an excellent opportunity to put our new premium service into practice: Totally Outsourced Furniture.

Outsourcing workstations is the future

The lobby of HOFF fully lives up to its hotel ambitions. The atmospheric space features several seating and lounge areas, the coffee machine grinds fresh beans, art is everywhere and it is a coming and going of guests. On this and the floors above are HOFF's office and meeting rooms, which are flexibly used by different companies. Sipke Feenstra, who was previously active at The Office Operators and also worked with Alvero there, is one of the founders of HOFF and envisions the future: "I feel like an apostle of sorts for outsourcing workplaces for 25 years."

Set a good example

"There are something like 2 million operational workplaces in the Netherlands. There is still a lot of traditional thinking. We shout about ESG (Envirnonmental, Social, Governance, ed.) but in the meantime we still put up concrete buildings. Everyone should use flexible workstations, because a lot of office space is empty and that is not sustainable. I would say to the government: set a good example, buy only what you really need and outsource. There is a change going on in that, though. Once 0.1 percent of workplaces were outsourced, now about 10 percent of the market works this way. Corporates are now coming out and using our spaces as well. It is a sustainable thought that the same product is used by multiple companies."

"With offices, we are actually still in the days of horse and carriage. Look at mobility, where everything can be arranged according to individual needs."

Sipke Feenstra

Totally Outsourced Furniture and HOFF

According to Sipke, the the work environment is very personal and as an employer you have to take that into account. "We have to move along, not think from the management's point of view. You have to be able to offer a product in which everyone can make their choice. Look at mobility, there you as a user determine your own mix of car, train, bicycle, shared transport, and so on." In flexibility and high-quality service, Alvero and HOFF find each other. With Totally Outsourced Furniture, Alvero offers a work environment that suits the individual and changing needs of staff, without the employer having to worry about it. A perfect match with HOFF, which makes the difference with flexible offices with a high-end hotel experience, without being saddled with large inventories or logistics.

The financial side

Rent furniture you only pay for as long as you use it. For Sipke, that is not the only financial motivation to rent; the HOFF concept gives customers a wide choice of office furniture, and that makes renting very attractive financially. "HOFF has 800 workstations, Alvero many 10,000's. A warehouse full of furniture is not an option for us. We can't get that logistically arranged either. Our core is tables and chairs, but not logistics. Rented furniture doesn't show up on your balance sheet, and renting also makes cash-out much more interesting."

"The work environment is slowly becoming a condition of employment."

Sipke Feenstra

Sipke: "The work environment is slowly becoming a condition of employment. A nice workplace is an argument for attracting people, along with sports, recreation, and so on. The way of thinking at HOFF and Alvero is exactly the same. Guest-oriented thinking, trying to do things better and better. We are both modern companies, coming up with real solutions to keep up."

"The way of thinking at HOFF and Alvero is exactly the same. Guest-centered thinking, trying to do things better and better."

Sipke Feenstra

Sustainable collaboration

Alvero has been involved in the creation of HOFF from the beginning. "Once we had an idea for a flex concept with five-star hotel aspirations. Then you start designing, making choices, and so on. It took about six months until the sketch stood. Then Alvero stepped in to help think and budget. From that moment on Alvero has been 100% involved; they have been walking around here until the very last day. And still do now, because if guests' wishes change it is adjusted with one call." That, too, is Totally Outsourced Furniture.

Flexible over the long term

From the previous cooperation and the concept of high-quality flexible workspaces, renting office furniture from Alvero was the logical choice. Renting keeps HOFF flexible in the short and long term. Sipke: "Often office furniture is purchased for growth that doesn't come. If we had done it all this new way, 10 million square meters less office space would have been needed in the Netherlands. Customers change their minds over time, working with Alvero allows HOFF to move with them. Other furniture they have arranged in no time. We can deliver what our guests ask for. Of furniture that is no longer needed, Alvero says, 'Just give it back and we will find another destination.'"