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What Small Space Operators Can Learn from Big Brokerage Mergers and Conversions

wworkhouse

2026-01-26

10 min read

Apply REMAX and Century 21 merger lessons to franchise or consolidate coworking spaces with practical playbooks and billing tips.

Hook: You're a small-space operator — scaling feels impossible, bookings are inconsistent, and rebranding is risky. What if the playbook used by big brokerages during mergers could give you a practical, low-cost road map?

In 2025–2026 the real estate world saw fast, high-stakes conversions: two Royal LePage firms joined REMAX, bringing ~1,200 agents and 17 offices into the REMAX ecosystem, while Century 21 New Millennium appointed an experienced external CEO and shifted founders to a governance role. These moves reveal repeatable patterns that small coworking, maker, and studio operators can adopt to franchise, consolidate locally, and scale without losing community. Below are concrete lessons and tactical steps you can implement this quarter.

The essential lessons from brokerage conversions and leadership changes

1. Brand scale matters — but local leadership keeps trust

When Royal LePage Your Community and Connect Realty converted to REMAX, the Risi family retained leadership even as they adopted REMAX branding and resources. The lesson for small operators: leverage a larger brand’s reach while keeping local operators visible. That balance protects lead retention and member trust.

2. Playbooks make conversions smooth

Large brokerages bring standardized onboarding, marketing templates, and tech stacks. Small operators can replicate this approach by creating a concise operations playbook for every location: billing rules, membership tiers, check-in flows, and incident escalation. Playbooks reduce friction during acquisitions and franchise rollouts.

3. Leadership transitions can be growth accelerators

Century 21 New Millennium’s decision to bring in Kim Harris Campbell — an executive with experience at a scale-focused competitor — while moving founders to a board role highlights a scalable governance model. For coworking consolidation, consider external hires or advisors with franchising or scaling experience while keeping founders involved in strategy.

4. Tech and marketing investments drive conversions

REMAX emphasized technology, digital presence, and social channels as drivers for the Risi firms joining their network. Small operators should prioritize a unified booking CRM, integrated payments, and a replicable marketing stack to support rapid expansion.

Why these lessons matter for coworking franchising and local roll-ups in 2026

Hybrid work and micro-studios remain growth vectors: demand for hourly/daily studios, maker bays, and satellite offices increased through 2025 and into 2026 as companies optimize real estate spend.
Consolidation is now local: investors and regional networks look to bundle small operators into franchise-style groups or shared-service co-ops.
Automation and AI reduce operational headcount: advanced booking AI, automated refunds, and dynamic pricing are now accessible to small operators via SaaS platforms.

Actionable roadmap: Convert lessons into a growth playbook

Below is a step-by-step framework you can implement in 90–180 days to franchise, consolidate, or scale a small-space operation.

Phase 0 — Decide your model: franchise, roll-up, or affiliate

Pick one growth strategy and design the minimum viable operating model for it:

Franchise: Build a replicable system and sell licenses to local operators. You provide branding, booking tech, supply procurement, and training for a recurring fee/royalty.
Roll-up (acquisition): Buy and centralize operations, standardize billing, and merge back-office functions to improve margins.
Affiliate/Partnership: Keep independent owners but provide shared services (lead gen, payment processing, community programming) for a referral fee.

Phase 1 — Due diligence and readiness checklist (30 days)

Before any conversation or term sheet, gather these items:

Top-line financials for 12 months: revenue by product (monthly memberships, day passes, equipment rental, event bookings).
Member contact and retention data: 12-month cohort retention and LTV by product.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs): billing, cancellations/refunds, daily opening/closing, safety protocols.
Legal files: lease terms, vendor contracts, any equipment liens.
Tax setup: entity type, payroll tax process, sales tax collection approach (confirm local rules), and last 2 years of returns.

Phase 2 — Migration & integration playbook (30–90 days)

When bringing a location into your system (either as a franchisee or acquisition), move quickly on these priorities to avoid membership churn:

Lead retention sprint (first 60 days):
- Create a personalized transition email and SMS campaign explaining the change and immediate benefits (expanded booking options, new pricing discounts, continuity of key staff).
- Offer a time-limited retention incentive: free upgrade for the next month or credit equal to one booked day.
- Assign a dedicated onboarding specialist to high-value members and enterprise accounts.
Billing & tax harmonization:
- Map existing membership SKUs to your master catalog and run a test billing cycle in parallel before cutting over.
- Confirm sales tax treatment for memberships vs. hourly rentals in each jurisdiction — automated tax engines are essential for multi-location rollups.
Tech stack consolidation:
- Choose a single booking + CRM platform that supports multi-location operations, dynamic pricing, waitlists, and API access for payment gateways and door access systems.
- Automate refunds, prorations, and revenue recognition to avoid manual accounting headaches.
Brand transition plan:
- Create a local-first messaging template: keep familiar owner faces in the communication and highlight network benefits.
- Roll signage and web redirects with a staged schedule (soft launch: digital + email; full launch: exterior signage + local PR).

Phase 3 — Operational scaling (90–180 days)

Once systems are in place, scale with repeatable operational disciplines:

Shared services hub: centralize payroll, accounts payable, marketing, and member support to save 10–25% on overhead per location.
Standardize pricing and packages: publish a franchisor/franchisee pricing matrix for core offerings; allow a small percentage of local price flexibility for events or premium spaces.
Performance dashboards: track occupancy, MRR, churn, average revenue per booking, and community event attendance weekly. Automate alerts for red flags.

Billing, tax, and accounting: the under-the-radar growth drivers

Ignoring billing and tax complexity sinks integrations fast. Here are the practical moves that preserve cash flow and avoid surprises.

Unify billing cadence and membership SKUs

Move all locations to a consistent billing calendar and SKU structure. The conversion window is a privileged moment to reduce plan proliferation: eliminate obsolete SKUs, consolidate similar plans, and create clear upgrade/downgrade rules. That cuts bookkeeping time and makes revenue recognition consistent across the group.

Automated prorations and revenue recognition

Implement accounting rules that auto-calc prorations for mid-cycle upgrades or location moves. Firms that keep manual prorations see higher disputes and member churn. In 2026, modern membership platforms can export GAAP-ready revenue schedules to your accounting system.

Sales tax and nexus considerations

Each location may sit in a different tax jurisdiction. Use an automated tax engine to calculate taxes at the point of sale and to produce remittance reports. For franchise models, define whether franchise fees are taxable in your jurisdictions and how VAT/GST applies to bundled services. Always validate with a licensed CPA during due diligence.

People and culture: retain community while scaling

Large broker conversions retained local leaders to preserve relationships. Mirror this: keep location managers highly visible, provide them with retention KPIs, and compensate for member satisfaction.

Onboarding for staff: a two-week training program that includes community-building techniques, incident handling, upsell scripts, and reporting cadence.
Governance model: institute a small advisory board that includes founder-operators — this mirrors the Century 21 move where founders shifted to governance while new executive leadership took day-to-day charge.
Recognition and career tracks: provide a clear career ladder and revenue-share options for high-performing managers to avoid turnover during conversion periods.

Marketing and lead retention: keep the pipeline full

Conversions often risk member churn and lead loss. Use these tried-and-tested tactics:

Rapid communication

Within 48 hours of a sign-off, send personalized messages to members explaining continuity and immediate value. Include local manager contact details and a free trial or credit.

Retargeted paid campaigns

Run two-week hyper-local campaigns highlighting new brand benefits, expanded booking inventory, or discounted community events. Tie campaigns to specific landing pages that speak to existing members vs. prospects. Use modern workflows and tools to iterate creative quickly (see tools & workflows).

Referral acceleration

Immediately launch a double-sided referral program for the first 90 days post-conversion with elevated rewards to re-activate lapsed members and reward current advocates.

Partnerships & local expansion: the smart way to grow

Brokerages often expand through partnerships with regional leaders. Small-space operators can adopt similar partnership strategies to fuel growth without heavy capital expenditure.

Local business alliances: create cross-promotion deals with nearby studios, cafés, and tool rental shops to bundle services.
Corporate pipelines: lock in repeat bookings with regional employers offering stipends for flexible work spots.
Equipment pools: centralize procurement for specialized tools (video gear, sewing machines, CNC tools) to reduce per-location capex and offer standardized add-on services.

Advanced strategies for 2026 and beyond

Dynamic pricing and AI-assisted yield management

Adopt AI models that adjust hourly/day rates based on time-of-day, local demand, and event calendars. This is now mainstream in hospitality and increasingly accessible for workspace platforms — a proven way to increase utilization and revenue without adding physical capacity.

Networked memberships and fractional access

Offer tiered network memberships that let users book multiple locations within the network. This leverages the brand effect of a larger group (a key REMAX advantage) and increases perceived value for members.

Sustainability and community standards

Make ESG commitments visible: energy-efficient lighting, tool recycling programs, and local hiring. These are increasingly requested by corporate clients and help with PR when expanding into new neighborhoods.

Case study comparisons and applied takeaways

Risi family + REMAX: keep local leadership, gain global tools

What worked: leadership continuity, access to REMAX marketing and tech, quick member communication emphasizing stability. Applied takeaway: when you bring a location into your fold, preserve the owner’s public-facing role to maintain trust while you upgrade back-office systems behind the scenes.

Century 21 New Millennium: governance upgrade to scale faster

What worked: bringing in a CEO with scaling experience (Kim Harris Campbell), creating a board for strategic oversight while founders moved to chairman roles. Applied takeaway: if you plan rapid franchising or roll-ups, recruit experienced executives or advisors early and formalize governance to avoid founder-bottlenecking.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to build this company alongside exceptional agents and leaders. While my role is changing, my commitment to NM and its people is not.” — Todd Hetherington (paraphrased)

Paraphrased statements from recent industry moves underscore a principle: founders’ commitment can be preserved through governance roles while new leaders focus on scaling operations.

Checklist: 15 quick actions to implement this month

Create a short operations playbook (10–15 pages) covering billing, refunds, bookings, and incident handling.
Map all current SKUs and create a standard SKU catalog.
Setup an automated tax engine for multi-location sales tax calculations.
Choose a single booking + CRM platform and pilot with one location.
Run a 60-day retention campaign with time-limited credits for existing members.
Identify 2–3 local partners for cross-promotion and bundled offers.
Document the top 5 metrics for weekly dashboards.
Create a franchise/affiliate one-page offer to test partner interest.
Recruit an advisor with franchising or M&A experience for a 90-day sprint.
Standardize onboarding training for location managers.
Centralize AP/AR processes; automate invoicing.
Implement dynamic pricing pilot for low-utilization hours.
Launch a referral double-up campaign for 90 days.
Create a public-facing page that addresses transition FAQs for members.
Schedule a tax & legal consultation focused on the chosen growth model.

Final practical advice

Big brokerage conversions and leadership changes are not just high-profile headlines; they reveal disciplined approaches to brand value, governance, and playbook-driven growth. Small-space operators can borrow the same principles at a lower cost and with less risk by keeping local leaders visible, standardizing operations, and investing in tech-enabled billing and tax automation.

Start small: pick one location and run a 90-day pilot that demonstrates savings and retention improvements. Use data from this pilot to persuade partners or investors — proof beats promises.

Call to action

If you’re planning a conversion, franchise launch, or local consolidation in 2026, don’t go it alone. Download our free 90-day conversion playbook tailored for coworking and studio operators, or book a 30-minute strategy call with our consolidation specialists to review your deal checklist and projected margins. Secure your spot — growth waits for no one.

workhouse

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.