Working from home has long been thought of as a wished-for fantasy dreamed of by many before the pandemic. When their \u201cwish\u201d came true thanks to COVID-19, the \u201creality experience\u201d for some new work-from-homers (WFH-ers) has proven a bit different than what they\u2019d originally envisioned. Crammed corner-bedroom \u201ccubicles\u201d and back-breaking kitchen counter setups, with piles of clothes making for less-than-ideal background d\u00e9cor wasn\u2019t how the \u201cluxury\u201d of WFH was imagined \u2013 not to mention the difficulties of trying to focus on work with a house full of people while universities and schools have online classes, all held in the bedroom next door!\u00a0 And don\u2019t forget the dog(s) or the cat(s) who can\u2019t believe their good fortune to have you at home all day. Play time!<\/p>\n
While many office spaces are remaining closed to protect their workers, some of the newbie WFH-ers have adapted and gotten better at negotiating their workspaces and their time management, and sharing their work environments with familial colleagues \u2013 human or otherwise. But their unmet needs for some peace and quiet or more comfortable setups have not gone unnoticed by some other adapters.<\/p>\n
Some hotels, looking for new revenue streams to offset the unprecedented reductions in bookings they\u2019ve faced since the pandemic began, have pivoted from trying to fill hotel rooms with tourists and corporate travelers; they are now targeting locals by offering \u201cWork From Hotel\u201d stays. Ranging from by-the-day prices to luxury work retreats, hotels are picking up the customers where office spaces left off.<\/p>\n
HotelsByDay.com, an online platform for day use hotel rooms was launched in 2015. Pre-pandemic, their mix was leisure guests (50%), airport layover travelers (30%) and the rest for business use. \u201cAlmost all the layover business is gone,\u201d said CEO Yannis Moati in a story by Judy Maxwell for Long Live Lodging<\/em> in October 2020, but \u201cWe\u2019ve witnessed a surge of \u2018work from hotel\u2019 bookings \u2014 from 12% pre-pandemic, to over 30% of our bookings now.\u201d HotelsbyDay\u2019s business was down 82% in April. In September it was down by 26% compared to pre-pandemic traffic. \u201cSo we are climbing ourselves back up from that hole.\u201d HotelsByDay, and the properties who are pivoting in this direction, are finding growth in a once niche market.<\/p>\n Maybe even more interesting in this new dynamic is that the day-guest demographic, as Moati notes, in \u201chyper local\u201d with more than 60 percent coming from less than 25 miles away. The trend is \u201csuddenly opening the door of that hotel to a much larger audience than ever before,\u201d Moati said. This could be a real opportunity for hotels to build a loyal, repeat customer base.\u00a0Some of the recognizable hotel brands jumping into the new market include:<\/p>\n The hotels leading the Work-From-Hotel charge are offering a host of other perks along with a clean, cool or warm space with a real desk and often a better view than your next-door neighbor\u2019s garage. Significantly reduced rates, free WiFi, free bottled water, discounts on food and beverage, flexible check-in and out hours, and more are on their new menu of amenities.<\/p>\n Now it seems the busy executive has gone from frequent flyer to frequent hotel guest.\u00a0 Will the hotel industry be able to keep these customers, or will they be fleeing when life returns back to \u201cnormal\u201d? Maybe if companies decide to keep their major business hubs closed or reduced to smaller pandemic-level size in favor of maintaining their remote workforce, can hotels and other venues turn this development into long-term group rooms situations, where the companies find it more economical to book work day rooms and gather employees in hotels versus their own expensive-to-run offices? Could this become part of the regeneration of city centers damaged by the C-19 effect?<\/p>\n So, trend or fad? What do you think?<\/em><\/p>\n www.hotelsbyday.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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