The Living Room Coworking has just earned a shiny new feather in its cap: the Digital Transformation and Community award from the 2025 Coworking Spain Conference! This annual gathering, the largest coworking event in the country, has been running for 14 years. This was the very first year awards had been introduced.
An Event to Remember
Reflecting on the awards ceremony, Ben, owner of TLR, said it was a truly amazing experience.
“This conference is always extremely well organised and it has been growing year-on-year. We’ve been attending for the last nine years, and while the talks and events are great, the real magic is in meeting industry colleagues, brainstorming ideas, and sharing what works and what doesn’t,” he said.
“Being in Málaga, sometimes you can feel a bit isolated down here, trying things out on your own, so connecting with others who ‘get it’ is always the highlight for me. Having said that… taking home such a prestigious award came extremely close! Being up on that stage with your teammate, accepting recognition for something you’ve been working really hard at… there’s no feeling quite like it.”
Building Community – Online and Offline
For Carmen, TLR’s Junior Community Manager, attending the conference in Madrid was like stepping into a whole new world.
“Before coming to TLR, I didn’t know anything about the coworking industry,” she admitted, laughing.
“So for me, it was like a gift to see these big companies, learn about the business, and discover just how unique TLR is. A lot of coworking spaces are just that: desks and chairs. But at TLR, it’s the community that comes first.”
That emphasis on community shone through when Ben gave a talk at the conference on the TLR approach to building connections.
He detailed their unique mix of monthly, weekly, biweekly, seasonal, and most importantly, member-led events, which keep the vibe alive and the members engaged.
“The response was very positive,” Ben shared.
“People had thoughtful questions and we had some great mature conversations, not just about the basics but about the next-level stuff: how to manage initiatives, how to keep things cohesive.”
The Winning Moment – and Why it was Well Deserved
When the awards ceremony arrived, no one at TLR knew they were going to win. Carmen confessed, “I was crossing my fingers, hoping. I felt like it was the perfect category for us, and we had done our best. But of course, when the ceremony starts, you start to doubt.”
Ben added with a smile: “They told everyone who was nominated to prepare a speech, just in case. I thought about it, but once you’re up there, it’s all euphoria, and you forget everything you planned to say! Carmen didn’t even want to come up on stage with me at first, but I told her she had to – so we went arm-in-arm. It was a super nice moment, looking out over the crowd and soaking up the applause.”
The Coworking Spain Conference deserves major credit here: this was the first time any Spanish coworking conference introduced awards.
As Ben put it: “It shows a massive growth step for the industry. Introducing awards like this helps professionalise the sector, recognise key players, and consolidate the conference as a serious, meaningful event. We’re grateful to Coworking Spain for putting in the work to make it happen.”
Meet Ken: The Fastest Community Manager in the World
So, what actually won TLR the prize? In one word: Ken. Or, more formally, Ken Bensley, the world’s fastest community manager (according to his email signature, anyway).
Valeria, TLR’s Senior Community Manager, explained: “I emphasised to the judges that Ken isn’t just a set of automations; he feels like an extra member of the team. When someone signs up for a membership, the first emails they receive are from Ken. People don’t even realise they’re talking to a bot until we jump in and say, ‘Hey, it’s Valeria here, taking over from my bot colleague, Ken.'”
Ken automates a range of tasks that free up the team for more meaningful work.
Ben elaborated: “When someone buys a day pass on the website, Ken instantly sends a human-sounding confirmation email, logs the booking in our CRM, updates the shared team calendar, and sends an internal notification to the team. That way, when someone shows up, we can greet them by name without scrambling or double-checking anything.”
AI Behind the Scenes: Saving Time and Boosting Service
Ken’s magic doesn’t stop at customer-facing tasks. Internally, TLR has fed two years’ worth of anonymised emails and their 200-page operations manual into the system, allowing Ken to serve as a private AI chatbot for the team.
“What often happens in organizations,” said Julija, co-founder of Pro AI Assistant and a TLR Family member who is helping with Ken’s development, “is that a few people end up holding most of the knowledge. New employees have to either dig through documents or interrupt someone to get answers. Ken solves that. Now, team members or interns can ask Ken direct questions and get instant, accurate responses based on our internal knowledge.”
Ben confirmed: “Imagine onboarding a new intern. Instead of waiting for one of us to have time, they can tap into Ken and get answers straight away. It saves time and removes roadblocks, letting everyone focus on the work that matters most – building our community.”
Innovation at the Heart of TLR
Valeria highlighted a particularly meaningful example she shared with the judges: “We had a member who lost his job. We asked Ken for suggestions, and he came up with a solution – offering three months of free subscription so the member could continue attending events, stay connected, and hopefully find new opportunities. That’s the kind of community-focused thinking that makes Ken special.”
This combination of efficiency and heart is why TLR won the award.
As Ben summed it up: “This award fits us perfectly because we do both digital transformation and community very well. And they nurture each other. If you do digital transformation right, you free up time to be with your community. It goes hand in hand.”
Looking Ahead: Growing with Purpose
The future looks bright for TLR. Ben and the team are continuing to refine Ken’s capabilities, ensuring it evolves to meet the community’s needs. For now, the internal system is being perfected, but there may be a future where Ken becomes a more outward-facing tool as well.
The team is deeply grateful to Coworking Spain for recognising their efforts and for organising such an inspiring, energising event.
As Carmen put it: “I was very happy and emotional. I’m proud of the community we’ve built, and even though I’ve only been here around eight months, this feels so special.”
So here’s to Ken, to the TLR team, and to a future where technology and community walk hand in hand – or maybe even arm-in-arm, like Ben and Carmen on that awards stage.
* If you would like to join TLR, check out our various subscription offerings here: https://tlr-coworking.com/subscriptions/. Our ‘Friend’ subscription, for example, is only €50/month and includes access to all TLR events and social gatherings, including the monthly TGIF, while other subscriptions include hot desk hours, or fixed desk options. If you’re interested, here’s a free trial day, on us: https://tlr-coworking.com/free-trial-day/
