Two members of the luxury Dorchester Collection, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, are extending out their five-star hotel services to those seeking alternative workspaces, transforming their spacious bedrooms into fully functioning offices for the first time.
Whether they are booked for taking Zoom calls, hosting interviews or working on a laptop in refined surroundings, the hotels provide an ideal base for doing business in Hollywood.
With business travel to the US (and even within the US) greatly curtailed because of the pandemic, empty hotels are having to find clever new ways to make the most of their room inventory.
The Dorchester Collection is one of a number of companies to be recognising the merits of turning suites into day-use offices for local remote workers.
Available to book from 7am-7pm, the rooms in the Beverly Hills and Bel-Air properties come with an "on call" IT concierge to ensure a seamless set-up, as well as a patio or balcony, large desk, stationery, free high-speed wifi, a Nespresso coffee machine and refreshments, a minibar (with up to US$35 a day credit) and discounted valet parking
With rates starting from US$895 for a deluxe room and US$1,045 for a suite per day this is certainly a service for the rich, especially considering you can't even spend the night (it makes you wonder what the advantage is over just booking a week in the hotel and spending your entire time there).
The London West Hollywood has also unveiled a "work-from-hotel" programme, which has gone a different route with pricing. In this case, packages start at US$5,000 per month a suites from 6am to 10pm. (You can’t stay overnight.) Although not quite as glamorous and fabulous as Dorchester Collection properties, it offers better value for money.
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, Viva Las Office by MGM Resorts allows guests to stay overnight, with rooms starting at US$101 per night (based on a five-night stay). "Elevated amenities and benefits" include flexible check-in and check-out times, a dedicated executive assistant to handle all reservations and experiences, and daily food and beverage credit.
Accor has announced a new Hotel Office concept to offer a “premium remote working experience", by renting out its rooms as day offices.
Globetrender has previously reported on hotel rooms tapping into the solo working trend.
In June, year-on-year hotel occupancy in Europe fell by 73 per cent, according to STR, and hotels have had to get creative to recover lost revenue.
Meanwhile, while professionals may be fed up with working from home after lockdown, they may still feel anxious about returning to their usual communal office or coworking space during a pandemic.
According to research from Accor, 23 per cent of respondents – representing more than 4.1 million home workers – say distractions at home make them less productive. And 29 per cent (5.5 million workers) are finding it hard to switch off from work with no separation between home and the office.
So the idea of solo working in a new, inspiring, clean environment provides a solution. It may also appeal to digital nomads who are working on the move once again.
“With millions of people adapting to new ways of working, we have been inspired to support this trend by offering a unique office experience, blending the need for quiet dedicated working spaces with all the convenience and amenities of a hotel,” says James Wheatcroft, vice-president of marketing for Accor Hotels, Northern Europe.
He adds: “Professionals can use this daytime booking to escape background noise, ensuring uninterrupted work and the opportunity to conduct conference and video calls in a private, peaceful environment."
Accor’s Hotel Office is available at 250 UK hotels and 70 in Northern Europe. The scheme will also expand across Europe over the coming weeks.
The service can be booked for a single-day or five-day package, and rates are typically cheaper than an average overnight stay at each hotel. Guests can also earn points towards the Accor Live Limitless programme, use the in-room amenities while they work and (subject to availability) enjoy the hotel’s facilities.
Amsterdam-based hotel and co-working provider Zoku offers an “office-away-from-home-office” with its loft micro apartments that double up as private workspaces. For €55 per day, can work in one of the lofts, benefitting from free wifi, lunch and hot drinks. Flip charts and keyboards can also be rented for €15. (Read more here.)
New York’s NoMo SoHo hotel has launched YourPlace at Nomo Soho, offering rooms for day-use private workspaces. Guests can book four-hour blocks of time (US$89) or eight-hour sessions (US$149). Perks include fast wifi, free snacks and gym access. Contactless room service is on offer, and guests can relax on the hotel terrace.
Over in Brooklyn, independent New York hotel the Wythe has teamed up with workplace provider Industrious. Beds and furniture have been removed from 14 guest rooms on its second floor, and the spaces have been converted into workspaces. The loft-style offices can each hold four people, and each one has a terrace. Dogs are welcome, too. Prices start from US$160 to hire a two-person studio for ten hours.
Until December 30 2020, the K West Hotel and Spa is offering a "Work from Home Alternative" for £79 which includes the use of an Executive room from 8am to 6pm with a work desk, free wifi, free parking and unlimited in-room tea and coffee. A £550 day-use week stay is also available and includes an English Breakfast delivered to your room each morning, and a two-course dinner via room service on two out of the four nights of your choice.
Trendy European hotel group 25 Hours is renting out rooms as workspaces for €50 per day, or €200 for Monday to Friday at hotels in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Vienna and Zurich.
The Intercontinental's newly revamped 32.5 sqm rooms can now be rented as day offices. Right in the heart of the Big Apple, prices start from US$1,000 per week. Teams can also hire a private floor of the hotel that has 16 individual offices – with views of Times Square and Midtown Manhattan – for a weekly cost of US$15,000.
Raffles is offering its State Room suites to its corporate clients to use as workspace for US$208 per day. The suites can be booked from 7am-7pm, and guests can enjoy full butler service as they work. They can also use the hotel’s gym and library, and get 15 per cent off in the hotel's restaurant, bar and spa.
Plush rooms at the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit can be rented by the day from 9am-5pm on weekdays. Prices start from US$206 per day, with free wifi and lunch served to the room.
Suites at California's Rosewood Miramar Beach near Santa Barbara have been fitted with PCs, printers and office supplies. The resort's Rosewood Remote Office programme – running until September 30 2020 – includes breakfast and coffee served to the suite.
With Ascott’s new "Work in Residence" scheme, people seeking alternative locations to work from or study can book spacious, self-contained suites in more than 60 serviced apartment properties in more than 30 cities.
Larger apartments with separate living and dining areas, kitchen and individual bedrooms are ideal for project groups. Guests have the flexibility to choose either daily, weekly or monthly packages. Depending on
the length of use and location, the work suites come with a dedicated workstation, regular housekeeping, free coffee and tea or free parking at selected serviced residences.
Telecommuting essentials such as high-speed wifi, wide-screen monitor, webcam for video-conferencing and Bluetooth speakers with microphones are available on demand. Task lights, wireless charging stand for tablets and mobile phones, power plugs and USB charging ports are provided as standard. Guests can also choose from a range of services which include food delivery, grocery shopping, printing, concierge or book-a-chef for in-room dining.
Mr Leong Teng Wui, Ascott’s chief development officer, says: “With the launch of Ascott’s Work in Residence, we are seizing opportunities on the rising telecommuting trend to offer a comprehensive solution for guests to live and work in a safe and private space.
"Ascott’s award- winning interior design service team will work with the properties and owners to leverage our deep design capabilities to reconfigure and customise Ascott’s spacious apartments, to not only provide a home away from home, but also create a conducive, productive and well-designed workspace for our guests.”
With international travel currently on hold – and many of us barely even allowed to leave our own homes – many hotels have found themselves struggling to stay afloat.
According to Fitch, the ratings agency, European hotel occupancy will fall by 60 per cent this year – and won’t recover until 2023. If correct, it could mean the end for entire swathes of the hotel industry and has meant that many properties are looking at innovative ways to secure revenue while customers shun trips abroad.
One smart idea that has emerged has been offering rooms to professionals looking for a quiet space to work for the day while their office is closed (working from home can be tough for many people).
Over in Amsterdam, Zoku hotel and co-working provider is offering an “office-away-from-home-office” for locals, by turning its loft micro apartments into private workspaces.
For €55 per day, workers can pitch up in one of Zoku’s lofts where they will have free wifi, lunch and hot drinks available. Flip charts and keyboards can also be rented for €15.
Rental periods are being kept deliberately flexible, with no long-term commitments. If workers did want to stay the night, then it would cost them an extra €75. However, because of social distancing measures, only two people can share the loft at any one time.
Other hotels are following suit. Trendy chain 25 Hours is offering rooms as workspaces for €50 per day, or €200 for Monday to Friday at hotels in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Vienna and Zurich.In a statement the company said: “Working on the ironing board, slow wifi, noisy neighbours – not every living room is also suitable as a home office. For those who crave a real desk, there is an ideal alternative: the 25hours Hotels Home Office rooms." The hotel allows pets and each room even comes with its own Schindelhauer bike.
Accor is running a similar initiative at ten hotels in Bangkok. It is limited to one person per room, priced at THB690 (£18) at select iBis Style hotels, THB890 (£23) at Novotel and THB1,190 (£30) for MGallery, Pullman and Grand Mercure Hotels. The company will also look to mimic the scheme in the UK when hotels reopen.
