The Evolution of Hotels in the Remote Work Era
Exploring the future of hotels: How can these establishments adapt and innovate to cater to the growing trend of individuals blending work with leisure?
This week, I was inspired by the article about the future of hotels in the 2030s. It featured perspectives from three Accor’s executives where they gave their thoughts on the future of hospitality.
One of the topics that pulled me in was the disruption of hotels because of remote work.
In this post, I will talk about how hotels will change as more people embrace the location-independent lifestyle.
But first, a short history of hotels and their purpose
Inns have been a part of human civilization for a very long time, serving as resting places for travelers. The Roman Empire had hostelries called "mansiones" along their road systems to accommodate travelers on government or commercial business.
From ancient times, where inns provided shelter, to medieval times where guesthouses catered to travelers on trade routes, the core purpose of providing a resting place for travelers has remained consistent. Whether for leisure or business purposes.
Travel for pleasure or leisure however only became popular in the 19th century and at that time a new class of resort hotels emerged in many countries. The 20th century saw the rise of hotel chains, catering to various needs, from luxury to budget.
From that time on, what has changed are the operations, technology and design of the hotels. The core purpose stayed the same since the industrial age.
While the core purpose remains the same, the way hotels cater to their guests and the range of services they offer have evolved in response to societal shifts.
And currently, we are in that moment of societal shifts due to the freedom to work from anywhere.
A Changing landscape for hotels
I think the hospitality sector is and will be very important for catering to people who have the option to work remotely. It will affect the development and growth of the services for the remote work population.
Currently, it’s the private rental market (mostly Airbnb) that has the most traction among this segment. Although hotels are not far behind based on the recent Flatio report, where 33.8 % of digital nomads reported to be using hotels as their preferred type of accommodation.
If remote work (or at least the hybrid form) becomes the norm, which is well on its way, it will be one of the next biggest disruptors of the hospitality industry.
The masses will never embrace the 100% digital nomad life. The masses will however be traveling more as remote work becomes more accepted. Not just 100% remote work, but also hybrid work - so called bleisure or workations.
I wrote about workations in one of my previous blogs.
If you’re working in the office for 2 days a week, you could travel somewhere else for the next 5 days and combine it with leisure (if you still manage to get your work done of course).
This in turn means that hotels will redefine living spaces.
Until now, most hotels were not designed as actual long-term living areas.
Damien Perrot, one of Accor's executives, has a bold prediction which I think is not that far off.
He foresees a future where many people might opt to live in hotels rather than traditional apartments. And they wouldn’t do it for luxury but for convenience and flexibility.
Why maintain a large apartment when you only use the dining room occasionally? Hotels can offer modular spaces that provide services on-demand, reducing the need for larger personal living spaces and offering a more efficient way of living.
Hotels could adapt to this trend by offering rooms that can quickly transform from a relaxation space to a work zone or even a meeting room. This flexibility ensures that travelers can seamlessly switch between work and leisure mode.
Hotels become multi-purpose spaces
The idea of staying longer in a destination, both for work and leisure, is gaining traction. This not only caters to the ‘‘bleisure’’ traveler but also to those looking to immerse themselves deeper in the visiting destination which they can now do thanks to remote work.
Perhaps hotels could shift into the concept of coliving. If you think about it, they are already perfectly designed for coliving situations.
Each resident has their own room to do deep work and spend some time alone with basic amenities like bathroom and bedroom. Then we have the common areas such as the dining room, cafe and working areas (now conference rooms) where people can socialize.
Previously, when you checked into a hotel, you knew that this was either leisure or business time. Now you won’t differentiate between the two.
A hotel will be a multi-purpose space for you to do deep work, make deep connections with fellow travelers and immerse yourself fully in the destination.
What do you think is the future of hotels? Let me know in the comments or reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn.