For years, choosing an office was mainly about postcode, square footage and price.

Today, businesses are asking much more specific questions. Can employees bring their dog? Is there somewhere pleasant to walk at lunchtime? Will everyone spend half the morning searching for parking? Is the broadband genuinely reliable? And, most importantly, will people actually want to come into the office?

That shift matters, particularly for hybrid businesses. If employees are only travelling into a workplace two or three days a week, an uninspiring office beside a congested road becomes increasingly difficult to justify.

If you are searching for dog-friendly office space in Surrey, a pet-friendly office near Guildford, or simply a nice office space outside London, here are the lifestyle details to check before signing anything.

1. Ask About the Dog Policy — Don’t Just Assume

For dog owners, bringing a pet to work can transform the working week.

It removes worries about leaving dogs alone for long periods and can make an office feel more relaxed and sociable.

But “dog-friendly” can mean very different things.

Before committing, ask:

• Are dogs permitted in individual offices?
• Are they allowed in communal areas?
• Is permission subject to neighbouring tenants?
• Are there restrictions on numbers or breeds?
• Is there suitable outdoor space nearby?
• What happens if somebody in a shared area has allergies or is uncomfortable around dogs?

A genuinely dog-friendly office in Surrey should have a workable policy, not simply tolerate the occasional dog.

And if bringing a dog is essential to your team, confirm the current policy directly with the workspace before signing, rather than relying on an old directory listing.

2. Look Beyond the Commute Time

An office described as “near Guildford” could still be frustrating to reach every morning.

Think about how your team actually travels.

If most employees drive, proximity to the A3 or M25 and straightforward parking may matter more than being beside a railway station. If people regularly travel into London, access to Woking or Guildford stations becomes more important.

Tannery Studios in Send sits between Guildford and Woking, around five minutes from the A3 and approximately ten minutes from the M25. Woking station is less than four miles away, providing another option for teams travelling from London or elsewhere by rail.

The lesson is simple: don’t choose an office from a map pin. Try the journey at the time your employees would genuinely be travelling.

3. Free Parking Is More Valuable Than It Sounds

Parking rarely makes the glamorous list of office requirements.

Until there isn’t any.

If five employees are each paying for town-centre parking several days a week, the hidden cost quickly becomes significant. Client visits and deliveries can also become more awkward.

For businesses based outside central London, accessible parking is one of the strongest arguments for choosing a more rural or edge-of-town workspace.

Tannery Studios provides free on-site parking and EV charging points, making it particularly practical for businesses whose employees travel from across Surrey.

That may sound like a small benefit, but it can materially improve the everyday experience of coming to work.

4. Ask Whether You Can Step Outside Without Finding a Dual Carriageway

One of the advantages of leaving London is supposed to be having more space.

Yet plenty of suburban offices replace city congestion with a business park surrounded by roads.

A pleasant outdoor environment can have genuine everyday value. Somewhere to walk during lunch, to take a coffee outside, or to have an informal conversation away from a screen makes the working day feel different.

Tannery Studios has a quiet waterside location beside the Wey Navigation, with outdoor areas and an Internet Garden overlooking the River Wey. Its location also provides access to nearby walking routes around Cartridge Basin.

For anyone bringing a dog to work, nearby walking space becomes even more important.

5. Check the Internet Properly

“High-speed Wi-Fi” has become such a standard office phrase that it can be almost meaningless.

Creative agencies, video businesses, software companies and hybrid teams need to know what happens when dozens of people are simultaneously uploading files, joining Teams calls and using cloud platforms.

Ask whether there is a backup connection and a headline broadband speed.

Tannery Studios uses two geographically diverse fibre routes, with a 10 Gb connection and a 1 Gb backup. Fibre is supplied to each room, helping protect tenants against a single connectivity failure.

If your business cannot operate without internet access, resilience is just as important as speed.

6. Choose Somewhere That Fits the Way Your Team Works

An office should not simply provide a desk per employee.

Modern teams might need a private office for focused work, meeting rooms for client calls, an informal space to talk, quiet pods for video meetings, and occasional larger spaces for presentations or workshops.

Tannery Studios currently offers around 60 flexible offices in different sizes, alongside meeting rooms, communal breakout spaces, private meeting pods, hot-desking facilities and professional video and photography studios.

That makes it particularly suited to creative, digital, media and independent businesses that need more than rows of desks.

Flexible contracts are worth considering too. A company of six today may become a team of twelve — or decide that only four people need permanent desks.

Your office should be able to evolve without forcing another complete relocation.

7. Pay Attention to How the Place Feels

This may be the least measurable criterion and one of the most important.

Would you be happy bringing a client there?

Could you imagine arriving on a Monday morning and actually enjoying the environment?

Is there natural light? Character? Somewhere for people to talk without sitting in a meeting room? Does it feel like a community or simply a building full of locked doors?

Tannery Studios deliberately positions itself as a creative business hub, with exposed brick, waterside views, shared areas, and a mix of digital, media, and creative companies, rather than the uniform appearance of a conventional serviced-office chain.

That distinction can matter when employers are trying to persuade people that coming into work provides something their spare bedroom cannot.

A Nice Office Is Now a Business Requirement

The rise of hybrid working has changed what good office space needs to deliver.

Businesses no longer necessarily need the closest desk to a London railway terminal. They need a workplace that is accessible, reliable, flexible and pleasant enough to justify the journey.

For some teams, that means finding pet-friendly office space near Guildford. For others, free parking, outdoor space or excellent connectivity will matter more.

The best approach is to create your own non-negotiable list and visit potential offices in person.

Tannery Studios combines flexible serviced offices with free parking, EV charging, resilient fibre connectivity, meeting and production facilities and a distinctive waterside setting between Guildford and Woking. It also runs on renewable electricity, supported by extensive on-site solar generation and energy-efficient systems.

If you’re looking for a nice office space outside London and want somewhere your team will genuinely enjoy using, contact Tannery Studios to arrange a viewing. And if bringing dogs to work is important to you, ask the team about the current pet arrangements for the particular office you’re considering at the same time.