Vanessa Sans

Coworking & Coliving Developer

Happy Working Lab

Space ManagementMember Experience

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Recorded sessions from Coworking Tech Week featuring Vanessa Sans.

45 min

How technology supports sales and growth in coworking, a conversation with Paco Botello of Colony Spaces and Vanessa Sans of Happy Working Lab

Panel Discussion

Chapters

1:20Colony Spaces’ growth story in MexicoPaco Botello introduces Colony Spaces and explains how the company grew from a local coworking brand into a 20-location flexible workspace operator across Mexico City and Cancún.4:22From small teams to corporate workspace clientsThe conversation looks at how Colony’s customer base has evolved, with more demand now coming from larger companies, international brands, and broker-led corporate enquiries.7:24Building a sales process around HubSpotPaco explains why Colony moved away from Excel and started using HubSpot to track leads, understand demand by location and product, and measure how long it takes enquiries to convert.14:16Where coworking sales leads come fromThis section covers Colony’s strongest lead sources, including Google Ads, the website, walk-ins, outdoor visibility, QR codes, WhatsApp, and brokers.15:28Using WhatsApp automation to qualify leads fasterPaco shows how ManyChat helps Colony collect key lead details through WhatsApp, send them into HubSpot, and make sure the sales team has the information needed before human follow-up.18:24Turning enquiries into tours and office salesThe discussion focuses on how Colony handles prospects after first contact, why the team prioritises getting people into the space, and how the tour helps uncover the real office need.20:46Automated follow-up after coworking toursPaco explains how Colony uses HubSpot and WhatsApp follow-ups after a visit, including different communication flows for people who toured, did not rent, or may be ready to reconsider later.23:04Client onboarding, retention, and renewalsThis chapter covers Colony’s customer experience process after move-in, including welcome steps, check-ins during the contract, and renewal conversations before the agreement ends.28:30Recovering missed sales opportunities with better dataPaco shares how leads were previously lost when the team could not respond quickly enough, and how automation now helps Colony reactivate old enquiries, follow up with brokers, and stay organised.32:04Broker relationships in a competitive coworking marketThe conversation explores how Colony works with brokers in Mexico and why personal relationships still matter, even when technology helps with communication and lead tracking.34:33Choosing coworking technology with a clear customer journeyVanessa Sans explains why operators should map the full customer journey before choosing tools, from lead generation and tours to onboarding, retention, renewal, and exit.36:42AI and inventory management in coworking salesPaco explains how Colony uses AI through WhatsApp automation to answer availability questions using office inventory data, including building, capacity, pricing, and layout information.38:27Coworking lead generation in Mexico, Spain, and EuropeVanessa and Paco compare how coworking demand differs by market, including the role of Google Ads, social media, Google Business Profile, corporate clients, freelancers, and digital nomads.

About Vanessa Sans

Vanessa Sans is a coworking and coliving developer, consultant, and early advocate of flexible work, with over a decade of experience shaping collaborative spaces and communities. Based in Barcelona, she has been a key voice in the coworking movement since 2012, championing it not just as a type of space, but as a new way of working and living.

She is the founder of Happy Working Lab, a consultancy supporting individuals, companies, and developers in creating coworking and coliving spaces from concept to operation. Her work spans the full lifecycle of a project, from feasibility analysis and business model design to spatial planning, brand identity, and implementation, helping clients build sustainable and community-driven environments.

Vanessa also founded Kalima - Beachside Coliving | Coworking, a project designed for a global community of remote workers on the Barcelona coast, focused on connecting international talent with local ecosystems. In addition, she has contributed to the global coworking movement through initiatives like the Coworking India Conference, and has held leadership roles such as General Manager at betahaus | Barcelona.

Her expertise lies in aligning space, business model, and community to create meaningful, flexible environments that support both people and place.

Talk at CTW 2026

All session times are shown in UK time [UTC+1 | BST] (Europe/London).

Wednesday, Apr 224:45 PM UK time · 45 minPanel Discussion

How technology supports sales and growth in coworking, a conversation with Paco Botello of Colony Spaces and Vanessa Sans of Happy Working Lab

Join us for a practical conversation on how technology supports sales, conversion, and growth in coworking.

In this live session, Vanessa Sans, Founder of Happy Working Lab, speaks with Paco Botello, Chief Commercial Officer at Colony Spaces in Mexico, about how Colony approaches demand generation, lead conversion, client retention, and commercial growth.

Together, they will explore the systems, tools, and processes behind Colony’s commercial engine, from what happens in the first 24 hours after a lead comes in to the metrics that matter most, the signals that show when a client may be at risk, and the role technology really plays in winning and keeping business.

Expect a grounded discussion focused on real examples, day-to-day operations, lessons learned, and what has actually improved over time. Rather than theory or jargon, this conversation will look at what works in practice, what did not, and what other operators can take away from it.

This session is for coworking operators, commercial leaders, and anyone interested in how better systems and smarter use of technology can drive more reliable growth.

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