This is not necessarily true, especially if you have fast typers on your team. And typing out conversations means you have a written record of everything that was said. Important points are no longer lost to the ether.

> And work ideas often get discussed during "non-work work time" (lunches/watercoolers) -- often leaving the remote team member out of the loop.

It's true, you do miss out on some of these types of conversations. But if your team makes heavy use of online communication tools, you often have conversations springing up during non-work hours. Also, missing out on 30 minutes of semi-casual discussion during lunch isn't that compelling of a downside for me, especially when weighing it against the upsides of increasing your potential labor pool.