Welcome to the second part of our Digital Nomad series that explores the direction, focus, and drive behind these travelers. View part I.
The world is slowly but surely figuring things out. In the meantime, the psychological impact is real and growing. But in a genuinely innovative move, many hotels have turned towards creative solutions to get their teams to work and guests on property. After years of work to get people out of their room, the focus is now getting people to not work from home but work from the hotel.
Numerous hotels worldwide have recently rolled out a new strategy to enable office workers’ to come in and work for the day. Whether the view is fighting cabin fever, pandemic fatigue, economic stimulation, or just trying to get out of the house, the idea seems to be catching on.
With so many working from home in cramped conditions, makeshift offices, or lacking necessary bandwidth and technology, these properties are positioning themselves to be the spearhead for a new breed of digital nomad. Many hotels offer highly discounted rates or even subscriptions to entice those needing space to rent a room. These rentals include access to a wide range of technology, including high-speed Internet, in-room entertainment, and of course, standard hotel amenities like in-room dining. Naturally, the goal is the preview will give you a great reason to book a full stay.
When the pandemic first began, many companies believed productivity would drop upwards of 20% working from home. But by most accounts, productivity has increased. Increased work hours, improved communication, and a desire to stay busy have contributed to this increase. Distractions at home have not played as detrimental as previously believed. But as the pandemic has stretched on temporary solutions with computers on dining room tables and space for conference calls is limited. Setting up a micro-office outside of a standard apartment or home has reinvigorated workers with a new lease on their environment. If they can’t work in a traditional office, they can now psychologically disconnect from everything operating from their home and regain an element of work-life separation. Most experts agree the break is critical and helps to increase productivity instead of just activity.
Hotels can often be an enchanting destination that is the launching ground for a beautiful vacation, a great sales meeting, or even just a weekend away. During the first months of the pandemic, many hotels shifted their purpose to open their doors as staging grounds for healthcare workers. Others operated as quarantine destinations. The natural evolution of these hotels and other properties is to open their doors to a new audience. While many of these things look quite different today, it’s a testament to the industry to rapidly shift offer such a hospitality-driven solution.