The hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Owners and operators are struggling to stay afloat until business and leisure travel rebounds, and many have identified remote workers to generate revenue, according to new research from JLL.
Hotels are now offering bedrooms as makeshift daytime offices. The work-from-hotel model targets local workers who desire a calm, quiet place to work, a better balance between work and home life, or simply a change of scenery after months of working from home.
“Hotels are well-placed to adapt to the growing remote working trend, which has been vastly accelerated by COVID,” said Jessica Jahns, JLL’s head of Hotels & Hospitality Research, EMEA. “It’s about turning redundant areas into much-needed revenue.”
Jahns said the appeal of the work-from-hotel model is strongest in cities. “Large cities where people face pressures such as smaller living spaces or busy commutes are where hotels can most likely step in,” she explained.
In the UK, for example, about 250 hotels in Accor’s portfolio are targeting day guests. The brands participating include Novotel, Ibis and Mercure. And in the Netherlands, a range of hotel rooms are available through one website, “For The Home Workers”, from Holiday Inn Express to Novotel and DoubleTree by Hilton. In Amsterdam, rates range from €25 to €85 per day and around €300 per month.
Meanwhile, here in the U.S, Hotel Figueroa in Los Angeles has joined the Work Perks program to offer high-speed wifi, unlimited printing, and free parking to day guests.
Jahns pointed out that the work-from-hotel model also opens up new possibilities for the hospitality sector to offer a range of services, from breakfasts to coffee, lunch or even dinner. In fact, a number of hotels are offering free access to leisure facilities.
For example, global hotel chain TFE, which owns brands including Adina and Vibe, offers rooms in Sydney from AU$75 (€46) from 9 am to 5 pm including full use of hotel facilities including restaurants, pools, and gyms.
The work-from-hotel model is an appealing short-term solution, Jahns noted. The question is whether it can become part of the industry’s offerings in the long-term.
“There’s a strong probability that day-usage may dwindle as offices gradually welcome back greater numbers of employees,” Jahns acknowledged, adding that hotels will equally need to reassess their capacity to offer rooms as offices when demand from travelers picks up again. “In the future, we’ll see hotels looking to increase their appeal among local workers and digital nomads.”
Comments