The AntiCafé – more comfortable & cheaper than holding office in the Starbucks
Leonie van Spronsen, lives and works in Paris and visited the AntiCafé. At this place you pay for the time you spend there!
In big cities most people have small homes and big dreams. To make these dreams come true you need to make long hours of studying/working/meeting and with those small living situations and high rents, finding a place to work can be challenging.
This fact has made it completely acceptable to work in your local Starbucks/McDonald’s/Coffee shop but obviously this is not ideal, the manager does not appreciate you being there all day, the F&B is expensive and the furniture was not set up for comfort on the long haul.
This is where the AntiCafé comes in, a concept where you are at a hospitality outlet and pay for time instead of per item. For a couple of euro’s you receive;
• coffee and tea
• snacks and fruits
• fast Wi-Fi
• access to a projector, printer, scanner and board games
• in addition, you are welcome to bring in your own food/soft drinks
You come in, receive a keycard that you need to hold onto until you leave, then when you are ready to leave you ‘check-out’ and pay per hour (€4 for the first hour, €3 per hour for the following hours and a maximum of €16 per day), that’s how easy it is.
Weekend days all Parisian locations fill up completely, you really have to be early to get a good spot!
The idea is to create a shared space where people can work, inspire each other or just have an extension of their living rooms. Maybe the mission statement is somewhat idealistic, dare I say hippie, but the practicality of the concept is very convenient. You are working between people from all over the world, hearing a plethora of languages, have access to unlimited drinks & snacks and you are comfortable in a beautiful, light space. I hope the AntiCafé will take the world by storm!
Editor’s Note: In the Netherlands we have a meeting concept, Seat2meet. You can work here and get free Wi-Fi, coffee, tea and lunch. Their business model is renting meeting rooms: premium spots for flexible workers who want a little more quiet, and meeting rooms for groups. The only conditions if you want to work here; you need to show your ‘social capital’ meaning, everyone present is aware of your expertise and if possible you help each other. Meanwhile Seats2meet has quite a few branches. Perhaps an idea for Paris?
And while we’re at it: look at DrawAttention. You can buy whiteboard stickers here to stick on your laptop cover, on which you can advertise your expertise or say you don’t want to be disturbed!
Bron: AntiCafé
