Living in Hotels as a Remote Worker: An Exclusive Interview
Explore personal experiences of living a hotel for 3 years while working remotely.
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After posting my previous blog about the evolution of hotels in the remote work era, a person reached out to me saying she lived in hotels for 3 years while working remotely.
I thought that this is an amazing story and it would be interesting to hear more about her experience. That’s why I decided to ask her some questions about her stay and write about it here.
In this post, I will present her experiences in living in different hotels around the world for 3 years while working remotely. You will hear about the positive side and the negative and how hotels can improve their services to be able to cater better to remote workers.
For the purpose of this interview and to maintain her privacy, we'll refer to our interviewee as Natalie. Let’s dive in!
How did her hotel experience look like?
Natalie’s decision to choose hotels as her temporary home wasn’t much of a choice. Her partner is in the hospitality industry and he was assigned to live in-house, so off they went spending 3 years living in hotel rooms.
She describes her experience as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The initial three months felt like a dream for her, with the convenience of dialling "0" for anything imaginable. The absence of laundry and cleaning worries was an added bonus.
When asked how her days looked like, she said she would wake up, head to the restaurant for coffee, hit the gym or pool for a workout, have breakfast, and then settle into her 35-square-meter room to work. For her, these days were kind of like practising a form of self quarantine, even before Covid-19.
She had everything within arms reach. To break the monotony, which there was plenty, she would grab lunch or dinner outside of the hotel.
Having all of these amenities like room service, laundry service and cooked food sounds like a dream for many of us, but as Natalie explains, there are many ups and downs to this lifestyle.
From a productivity standpoint, it was a solid 100% - Natalie
The ups and downs of living in a hotel
In terms of convenience, as mentioned earlier, there’s no arguing that a hotel is a very convenient place to be. 24/7 room service, laundry service, housekeeping, you name it. You don’t have to move a finger if you don’t want to.
All of these conveniences enable you to maximize your time and achieve maximum productivity. From a productivity standpoint, a hotel seems like a good place to be. But to look at it more holistically and from a well-being standpoint, it might not be the best thing for the long-term. She mentions it’s so easy to get caught up in a routine which sometimes even makes you forget to go outside and get some fresh air.
Hotels have always been meeting points of diverse people from around the world. Natalie mentions this as one of the benefits, as she got to meet interesting people from different countries.
Also, as she got to interact with the hotel staff on a daily basis, she got invited to their homes for meals or visits which gave here a unique insight into the local way of life.
However, in terms of hotel guests, they were mainly people on vacation or strictly on business trips and not many other remote workers. It’s often hard to make meaningful interactions with other guests as they’re only there for short periods of time. That being said, socializing has been an issue for her as you cannot just invite people for a simple dinner in your house as you can if you live in your own place.
One of the biggest fears for remote workers is bad internet connection. As Natalie mentions, in hotels you have no control over the connection and it may happen that because of the high number of users, hotels may experience internet issues. We would expect that in 2023 internet reliability would not be a concern, but Natalie’s experiences says otherwise.
Another important thing for remote workers is your working space. She mentions that desks in hotel rooms are not designed for working full time and you need to improvize.
One of the biggest downsides of this lifestyle could well be the privacy aspect which often goes unnoticed in hotels when you’re there only for a short time. Any staff member can enter your room at any time and they can become privy to your personal belongings and have an uncomfortable insight into your daily life, as Natalie felt. For her, it felt uncomfortably intimate.
Given these experiences, would Natalie recommend this lifestyle to others?
I don't believe that staying in a hotel can truly immerse an individual in the local culture - Natalie
Would she recommend living in hotels?
Her answer: ‘’Don’t stay too long and don't let the allure of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" fool you; it's not all glitz and glamour.”
If you decide to opt for this lifestyle, she recommends changing hotels at least every 6 months and to change your surroundings as much as possible.
She also recommends opting for less internationalized hotels with fewer amenities like a gym, pool or other services. That way will force you to explore more of the local destination you’re visiting.
Natalie doesn’t believe staying in a hotel can help you immerse yourself in the local culture and community. Her experience was very international as she spoke only English with the staff and guests.
If you’re looking to get a local experience a hotel might not be the best place to get that.
To answer my question if she would do it again, her answer is a definite no. 3 years is a long time and I can understand why she wouldn’t do it again if she had a choice. When that period was ending for her, all she could dream of was having her own rented apartment.
After experiencing hotel life, she began to appreciate the luxury of privacy and comfort of having a place she can call home. Even if that means doing her own laundry and cleaning.
She also doesn’t feel excited anymore by staying in hotels while on vacation as she once was.
I'll never go back to hotel living if I can avoid it - Natalie
How hotels can adapt: Natalie's suggestions
This was my last question and the one I was very much interested in. She points out a few things hotels can do to become more appealing to remote workers:
Coworking and coliving arrangements: By adding coworking spaces, hotels could foster a sense of community and facilitate more meaningful interactions between remote workers, she says. One step further would be to adopt a coliving concept with communal kitchens and other common areas which would mitigate the feeling of isolation and loneliness.
Reliable Internet connection: A solution that Natalie provides is to offer reliable internet packages catered to remote workers at an additional cost which would provide more flexibility.
Infusing local culture: her recommendation on how to do this is through diverse food options and a range of cultural activities. This is especially relevant for remote workers who are seeking immersion in the local culture.
Work-friendly amenities: equipping rooms with work-friendly amenities is another priority for Natalie which could include comfortable workstations, ergonomic chairs and ample lighting. Next steps could be touchpoints like adjustable temperature and blackout curtains to provide a more productive and pleasant work environment.
Catering to remote workers who seek immersion in the local culture should be a priority - Natalie
Could you live in a hotel?
Having heard the details of Natalie’s experience, I would personally still like to try living in a hotel while working remotely but I would do it for a much shorter period of time (e.g. 1 or 2 months). However, preferably, I would opt for a hotel that’s not an international one or a hotel that would enable me to experience more of the local culture and not keep me locked in.
If the prediction from Damien Perrot is true, that hotels will become convenient living spaces, they will need to change their amenities and culture immensely, according to Natalie’s experience.
But then to become living & working spaces will require another level of flexibility and more similar conversations with people who have actually done it that can help us design the spaces people actually need.
Could you live in a hotel? What kind of amenities are you most/least excited about? Let me know in the comments or reach out on LinkedIn.
Thanks to Natalie for giving her honest and in-depth view of living in hotels!
A little bragging goes a long way 🍻🙂
Definitely deserved with posts like this!