Robbins: MrOfficeSpace Extends Web Brand

Interview... Yale Robbins, CEO of Yale Robbins Inc., publishes Office Buildings Magazine annually in 13 separate print editions -- nine covering the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions through Virginia, and four distinct editions for the Manhattan markets -- Midtown, Midtown South, Downtown, and the Manhattan Review. Robbins is a veteran of the online world, having developed the original Office Buildings Magazine web site in 1996. In September 2000, Robbins launched MrOfficeSpace.com, an Internet-based listing service, initially focused on Manhattan space available. Robbins responded to three e-mailed questions on October 18, 2000.

Pike: What is the business model of MrOfficeSpace.com?

Robbins: We are using page-views to encourage building agents and owners to pay to promote their space in various formats. Rather than looking to sell banner ads, we are offering building owners and rental agents the ability to add information to their building listings. While we are committed to running available space for free, it is the enhancements such as floor plans, virtual tours and links to owners' web sites, etc. that will add value and are being paid for. An additional source of revenue is our private branded version of our search page. Owners and agents will be able to add a customized space search form to their web sites. We will allow all of the content from our site to be seamlessly integrated into their site displayed with the look and feel of their existing site.

Pike: Is there synergy between print publications and the web?

Robbins: Yes, on several levels. Print publications are portable, and you can easily add hand-written notes. Print publications have high bandwidth (yes I did say that). Think about what is required to deliver the effect of thumbing through a book of 400 pages on today's web. We can amortize data acquisition costs over both media. And, finally, the print product establishes credibility for our web product. In a crowded market, this is a tremendous asset.

Pike: Have real estate web services grown faster or slower than your expectations?

Robbins: When we opened Office Buildings Magazine's web site in 1996, the only available dedicated connection for giving demos in many real estate offices was the fax line. We recognized from many face-to-face meetings that our industry would lag the general business community as it was selling a product (real estate) that could not be shipped overnight by FedEx. The lack of affordable, readily available high-speed client access to the Internet has limited growth of information services on the web as well.

--Peter Pike