Austin, Texas based real estate company Austin Tenant Advisors is reaching out to the wider community to comment on the impact of COVID-19 on the return-to-work plans of local businesses. The company specializes in helping people find the best commercial real estate space for lease, rent or sale. They help businesses small and large in the search, selection, negotiation and occupancy of warehouse space, retail space and office space for lease. As such, their proximity to so many different types of businesses gives them a great deal of insight on the obstacles that the pandemic brought.
While many Austin companies had plans to reopen their offices in September, these plans have had to be changed due to the recent surge of the COVID-19 Delta Variant that is now spreading amongst the Austin population. At the moment, it appears that the workforce may not return to their offices until at least January of 2022. This sentiment is being echoed across the country.
There are good reasons for this change of plans as well. Austin-Travis County’s COVID-19 risk-based guidelines still remain high. The Austin Public Health published a color coded chart that outlines the recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. The general consensus of all these guidelines is that a large scale return to work is just not recommended.
The larger Austin companies, such as Dell Technologies, Apple, Indeed, Facebook and Google (among many others) are all delaying the return of their workforce to their offices. Some companies, such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook are allowing employees to work in the offices at their discretion, provided that the employees are fully vaccinated. Many smaller companies seem to be full speed ahead with thier office space plans.
Nathan K. Smith, Austin commercial real estate broker and owner of Austin Tenant Advisors, says, “So far, we have not seen any mandatory shutdowns or limitations on occupancy. However, that could change overnight. Many companies are evaluating this on a daily basis and taking it upon themselves to change their reopening plans. There is still office leasing activity in the market with local companies planning relocations or expansions as well as those out of town companies considering opening an Austin office for the first time. They might be pushing out their rent commencement dates a little. Notably, it's not stopping them from making plans. Austin is a very desirable city to live and work in, and many companies want to be here."
He continues, “At the beginning of COVID-19, when businesses made the transition to the work from home model, nobody expected the pandemic would last this long. However, the pandemic has persisted, and businesses have obviously had to change their plans a few times along the way. While some companies have attempted several times to get their workforce back to the offices, not every attempt has been a success. While different businesses are taking different approaches to handle the problem, there hasn’t yet been an overall solution.”
However, the Austin commercial real estate agency does provide a method for businesses not to bleed money as they wait for their workforce to return to the office: simply sublease the office space for other companies or businesses that might be looking for a place to work from. Austin Tenant Advisors specializes in helping companies find office space for rent. During the pandemic, they have already helped many companies sublease their office spaces that they no longer needed.
Austin Tenant Advisors’ dedication to their work has made them popular among the city’s businesses, leading to the high rating they currently boast on the Google platform. Gerlach Ozzie praises the company in their recent 5-Star review and says, “Nathan provided a great service in helping us find an office space for rent. He dedicated his time in finding us the best space available. He even negotiated with landlords for us. He is really dedicated to his job. Austin Tenant Advisors is a great choice for anyone who needs a commercial realty agent. They are professional, reliable and very responsive.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_-wqOHm3K0
The team at Austin Tenant Advisors is ready to help Austin businesses and offices find office space for rent in Austin. They encourage interested parties to visit their website to learn more about the services they offer. The company can be reached via email, phone and more.
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For more information about Austin Tenant Advisors, contact the company here:
Austin Tenant Advisors
Austin Tenant Advisors
(512) 861-0525
info@austintenantadvisors.com
1300 Guadalupe St #250
Austin, Tx 78701
