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Hotels Offer Locals Daytime Office Bookings
With offices shut, hotels are enticing homebound consumers with work-appropriate daytime bookings – a trend we identify in Hotels + Covid-19: Three Survival Strategies. It’s a clever approach to repurposing dormant rooms, and one that points to the hospitality industry’s malleable future.
In the US, we’re seeing hotel chains ranging from Hyatt to budget-friendly Red Roof offering daytime rates for remote employees – and it’s a shift being implemented worldwide. For instance, United Arab Emirates’ Rove Hotels has partnered with local co-working company Letswork to open up day bookings. Australia’s Quality Suites Pioneer Sands, an hour’s drive south of Sydney, is offering 10-hour slots with a free lunch. And German hotel group Achat is promoting office bookings to entice locals while tourist stays are banned.
Despite slight variances in amenities and operating hours, these bookings follow a similar structure. Guests are allowed to access the room for a limited period of time; they can use any in-room amenities such as coffee makers, televisions and beds; and they’re given office-appropriate perks, like unlimited printing or speedy wi-fi. Reorienting bookings to target those seeking a second office is a shrewd move to tap into the new tribe of temporarily remote workers we profile in Work Rewired.
As work habits morph and the travel industry reckons with the pandemic, such alternative formats could enable hotels to shift their focus from amenities for tourists, to local-oriented services. While we’ve already seen hotels doubling down on dining and events to fuel a neighbourhood scene, a limited travel landscape for the foreseeable future means locals will need to become an increasing priority.
For more on how the travel industry is preparing for post-pandemic success, see How to Win Future Travellers. For more on work-centric hospitality offers, see New-Wave Members’ Clubs.
