Office Space News
Regus Strikes Alliance with Professional and Technical Consultants Association
Published April 21st, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire
Regus just announced yet another strategic partnership. This time, its’ with the Professional and Technical Consultants Association, or PATCA, a non-profit organization in Santa Clara, Calif. created specifically to help businesses and independent consultants connect.
There’s nothing particularly new about the terms of the deal. It’s the same offer Regus seems to make to most other associations, airlines, travel magazines, clubs and others it inks deals with. Specifically, PATCA member consultants get access to office space, meeting rooms and other professional services by virtue of a free six-month membership to Regus businessworld Gold program.
Just to review, the businessworld Gold membership gives you access to more than 1,000 Regus business lounges in 450 cities around the world. Regus is also giving PATCA members to free months when they sign up for a 12-month virtual office package. In return, PATCA is giving existing Regus businessworld Gold, Platinum and PlatinumPlus members discounted PATCA membership dues and discounts on certain events including educational seminars.
Does this Benefit PATCA?
PATCA President Walt Maclay, sees it as an advantage for his members. “Many of our members have been expanding their consulting services to new global locations in recent years and this will provide them with a professional image wherever they travel,” he says. “In turn, we hope and expect that Regus’ clients will learn more about PATCA’s services through this partnership, resulting in new PATCA consulting members and new client prospects for our consultants.”
That’s what strategic partnerships are all about. The PATCA relationship is a potential powerhouse of referrals for Regus. PATCA is a highly-respected group for consulting professionals and is a proven referral source for business and technology hiring managers at companies around the world that span more than 200 industries. Most of PATCA’s members have experience working with Fortune 500 companies.
Will it Benefit Regus?
Of course, getting an e-mail newsletter announcing the Regus deal won’t be enough to drive PATCA members to Regus alone. Some of these consultants may not be aware of the serviced office model. Others may already be tapping into a trusted resource for office space, even while on the road. Still others may not need the services at all.
But here’s the deal. These partnerships are extremely low-risk for Regus. There’s not much cost involved to develop the alliances. Giving a businessworld membership isn’t a hard cost. The upside is far greater than the downside. This is another example of why serviced office companies need to look for more opportunities to partner. Compared to launching an ad campaign that you can’t measure, the partnership strategy offers low investment and more measurable results.
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Bill Brookshire April 21st, 2010 at 8:45 am
I like the way you analyzed this. I notice you are addressing these Regus alliances from the perspective that almost challenges other companies in the serviced office space to take up this strategy. I also have to wonder why other executive suites providers aren’t pushing in this direction. Is it because they don’t have the clout in their local markets to get any willing partners? One thing Regus does have and that’s an international platform that’s probably attractive to its partners. Still, even one-off serviced office companies can do smaller deals with local associations, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
Elizabeth Sanchez April 21st, 2010 at 10:25 am
I think Regus has all the systems in place, but Regus has some chinks in its armor. The company is growing so fast, for example, and maybe too fast. If you grow too fast, you can get into a lot of trouble. Even though Regus has strong cash reserves, it could quickly erode that strength in a prolonged recession. I do believe Regus competitors, though, should be looking at what Regus is doing rightly and safely and learn from it.