Why You Need a Virtual Office

Co-working space East Room’s first location was a building co-founder Derreck Martin’s grandfather bought in 1987. Back then, it was used by the local artist community for screenings, art installations and concerts. When it came time to launch East Room’s inaugural location in 2014, Martin wanted East Room’s spaces to continue to be used for community building.
Inspired by his grandfather’s passion for renovating derelict buildings into creative work hubs, East Room began hosting social events for members who used the co-working space and also wanted to find collaborators for their businesses. He knew however that because his clients’ businesses were going to have their ups and downs, it was important to offer a service to clients at every stage of their journey.
“From the beginning, we had a number of our members asking if we could offer a virtual office as a service,” said Martin. “It was a very natural progression based on member demand.”
Ten years on, East Room’s mailbox membership has become a cornerstone of East Room’s offerings, servicing almost 1200 mailbox members per month. For 50 dollars a month, members can use an East Room location as their business’ mailing address and get notified of new mail and packages. They can also rent a boardroom to meet clients in person at a reduced rate.
East Room is one of many companies that have capitalised on the growing trend of “virtual offices” — for a relatively low cost, employees can work from anywhere while having access to a mailing address, conference rooms, even phone answering services, all operated by a shared office space.
According to Statista, the global shared office space market is expected to grow from $41 billion in 2024 to $62 billion by 2029. Driven by a demand for more flexible work arrangements, nearly five years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic one in five Canadians still work most of their hours remotely according to Statistics Canada. This is despite a recent decline in employers offering work-from-home options. As such, virtual offices are often marketed to startups and e-commerce businesses.
Launched almost ten years before the pandemic, Martin says East Room’s virtual offices were inspired by the level of care he saw hotel concierges provide guests, regardless of the size of their suite. He believes that virtual offices and other co-working spaces should give their clients access to the same perks and add-ons.
“If you’re using our services or spending so much time in the office, why can’t you get the same type of hospitality that you would at a hotel?” he said. For Martin, it also makes it easier for East Room to retain its clients: Whether a client is upgrading to a long-term office if their business grows, or returning to a virtual office if they need to cut back on expenses, they maintain a presence at East Room.
Martin says that while East Room’s mailbox memberships were always a cornerstone of East Room’s offerings, the pandemic underscored their significance as a practical solution for businesses of all sizes.
“We essentially moved our entire membership base onto the mailbox membership during that time,” said Martin, “It allowed our members to continue to run their business at a low cost during what was a difficult and strenuous time for many of our members.”
For Priyanka Goswami, president of advertising agency No Fixed Address, an East Room virtual office helped attract and retain talent from around the globe when the company was first starting. (The company’s name is a nod to the fact that they once didn’t have a traditional office.)
“It was an ideal setup for a startup agency like ours, providing the structure we needed while fully embracing our nontraditional, agile approach,” said Goswami.

Reduced overhead also helped them grow into a larger ad agency with 51 employees in cities like Montreal, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. Nine years since their founding, their headquarters are still located at the East Room.
“We’ve completely embraced the lifestyle, fostering a culture where employees are free from the anxiety of return-to-office mandates,” notes Goswami. “For us, great work isn’t tied to a location—it can happen anywhere.”
Related: These Canadians Are Earning More By Working Remotely for International Companies
Growing one’s business can entail uncontrollable challenges that could impact clients like mail delays, says Martin, so they’re very strict when interviewing employees to ensure they’re a culture fit and aligned with their values as exceptional operators. For him, it’s not just about providing a service, but about nurturing a supportive and engaging environment where small businesses feel valued and empowered.