Here's a scenario that plays out at coworking centers every week: a new client walks in, signs up for a virtual office plan, and when asked how they found the center, says "I saw you online."
What they don't say is where online. It could have been Google. It could have been a friend's recommendation. But increasingly, it's because they saw your center listed on a virtual office aggregator platform and then searched for you directly.
This is the billboard effect for virtual offices, and it's one of the most misunderstood dynamics in the coworking industry.
Centers that understand it use aggregator partnerships as a growth multiplier. Centers that don't, or that pull their listings thinking they'll save on commissions, often see their direct bookings drop too.
In this analysis, we'll break down exactly how the billboard effect works, what the data shows, and how you can measure its impact at your center.
The billboard effect is a term coined by Cornell University researchers studying the hotel industry. Their landmark study found that hotels listed on online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com saw a significant increase in direct bookings, not just bookings through the platform.
The mechanism is simple. A potential customer sees your listing on the marketplace. They note your name and location. Then they search for you directly, through Google, through your website, or by calling your center.
The customer never actually books through the aggregator. But without that initial visibility, they never would have found you at all.
The same dynamic applies to virtual offices. When a business owner searches for a virtual address, they often start on aggregator platforms because those platforms make comparison easy. They browse listings, shortlist a few centers, and then research those centers independently.
Your aggregator listing isn't just a sales channel. It's a discovery channel that feeds your direct pipeline.
Cornell's research found that hotels listed on OTAs saw direct booking increases of 7.5-26%, depending on the property type and market. Budget and mid-tier properties saw the largest effect.
A follow-up study by the University of Illinois confirmed the finding: removing a hotel from an OTA reduced total bookings, including direct ones, by an average of 14%.
The parallel to coworking is striking. Independent centers benefit most from marketplace visibility because they lack the brand recognition of major chains. The billboard effect fills a discovery gap that independent centers struggle to fill on their own.
You've probably heard the pitch: "Why pay commissions to an aggregator when you could sell directly and keep 100% of the revenue?"
On the surface, it sounds logical. But it ignores the billboard effect entirely.
The question isn't whether you'd prefer 100% of a direct booking over a commission-based aggregator booking. Of course you would. The question is whether you'd get that direct booking at all without the aggregator visibility.
When a center removes itself from aggregator platforms, two things happen.
First, the direct bookings that were being generated by the billboard effect start to decline. These were clients who discovered the center through the aggregator but booked directly. Without the listing, that discovery channel disappears.
Second, the center now needs to replace that demand through its own marketing. Google Ads, SEO, social media, local networking: all of these cost money and take time. Most independent centers don't have the marketing budget to replicate the reach of a major aggregator platform.
Let's walk through a simplified example.
A center on an aggregator platform generates 10 new virtual office clients per month: 6 through the aggregator and 4 direct. The aggregator takes a commission on the 6, but the billboard effect is driving at least 2 of those 4 direct bookings.
If the center leaves the platform, they keep the commission savings on those 6 aggregator bookings, but they're no longer getting those bookings at all. And the 2 billboard-effect direct bookings disappear too.
Net result: the center goes from 10 new clients per month to roughly 2. The commission savings are dwarfed by the lost revenue.
The virtual office client journey is more complex than most center operators realize. Understanding it explains why the billboard effect is so powerful.
A business owner decides they need a professional address. They search for "virtual office in [city]." Aggregator platforms typically dominate these results because they invest heavily in SEO and paid search.
On the aggregator platform, the business owner sees your center alongside others. They compare pricing, photos, amenities, and reviews. They narrow their options to 2-3 centers.
This is where the billboard effect begins. Your center is now on their radar.
Before making a decision, the business owner searches for your center by name. They visit your website, read Google reviews, maybe check your social media. They want to validate what they saw on the aggregator.
This research step is where many clients decide to book directly with you, through your website, by phone, or by walking in.
The client books. If they book through the aggregator, you pay a commission. If they book directly, you don't. But in both cases, the aggregator listing is what started the journey.
Without that initial visibility in Stage 1, Stages 2 through 4 never happen.
While the virtual office industry doesn't yet have the volume of academic research that hotels do, several data points support the billboard effect's relevance.
Based on Alliance partner data, centers that join aggregator networks typically see a 15-25% increase in total inquiries within the first 6 months, including inquiries through direct channels.
"Your aggregator listing isn't just a sales channel. It's a discovery channel that feeds your direct pipeline."
Here's what most people miss: the decline isn't just the loss of aggregator bookings. It includes a drop in direct bookings too. That's the billboard effect working in reverse.
You don't have to take the billboard effect on faith. Here's how to measure it at your center.
Every inquiry should be tagged with a source: aggregator, Google organic, Google paid, referral, walk-in, phone, or website form. If you're not tracking this, start today.
Pay close attention to the "website" and "phone" categories. These are where billboard-effect clients often show up: they discovered you on an aggregator but booked through your direct channels.
When a new client says they found you "online" or "through Google," ask a follow-up: "Do you remember where you first saw our listing?" You'll be surprised how often the answer traces back to an aggregator platform.
If you're considering leaving an aggregator, don't guess at the impact. Track your total new client acquisition rate across all channels for 3 months before and 3 months after. The difference will tell you exactly how much demand the aggregator was generating, directly and indirectly.
Aggregator platforms often drive referral traffic to your website. Check your analytics for referral sources. If you see significant traffic coming from aggregator domains, that's the billboard effect in action, and it's measurable.
The billboard effect isn't static. It compounds over time as your center builds visibility and reputation on the platform.
New listings start with minimal visibility. As you accumulate reviews, respond to inquiries quickly, and maintain high-quality photos and descriptions, your listing moves up in platform rankings. More visibility means more billboard-effect impressions.
Centers that have been on aggregator platforms for two or more years typically see stronger billboard effects than new listings. The accumulated reviews and search history create a compounding visibility advantage that's difficult and expensive to replicate through independent marketing.
Leaving the platform resets that accumulated advantage to zero. If you rejoin later, you start from scratch.
Not all aggregator listings are created equal. Here's how to get the most billboard-effect value from your presence.
Invest in professional photography. Listings with high-quality photos get significantly more clicks. More clicks mean more brand impressions, which means a stronger billboard effect.
The billboard effect is not a theory. It's a documented phenomenon with decades of evidence from the hospitality industry and growing confirmation in the flexible workspace sector.
Centers that understand it view aggregator commissions not as a cost, but as a marketing investment that generates both direct and indirect revenue. Centers that don't understand it often leave platforms, see their total bookings decline, and struggle to recover the lost demand.
The data is consistent: aggregator presence drives direct bookings. The billboard effect is real, measurable, and one of the most cost-effective demand generation strategies available to independent coworking centers.
Further Reading