At your Bleisure: The Modern Workplace is Changing

(and yes, “Bleisure” means good news for New Zealand Accommodation).

Remote working is undoubtedly on the rise worldwide and, with it, there are some interesting opportunities for accommodation providers looking to diversify income streams and attract repeat patronage from locals. 

What is happening?

The rise of the business-leisure (or ‘bleisure’) visitor has many accommodation providers looking to pivot from the traditional holiday check-ins.

Working from home was a reality for most of the general population during recent lockdowns. However, just because it’s simple to work from anywhere, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy.  

Moving to working from home can mean losing out on socialisation, a blurring the lines between work and home life. It can also mean a loss of the services and amenities often provided by commercial office spaces.

Fortunately, these are all services and features that a hotel can bring to the table. This is why many international accommodation providers have adopted the idea of offering “bleisure” facilities, or co-working spaces and day rooms as office spaces within their facilities.

Here are a few that have proved successful

• Now with four hotels in European hotspots, Zoku was quick to jump on the growing need for hybrid workspace-accommodation, creating its initial purpose-built hotel in Amsterdam in 2016. Zoku hotels have a range of different meeting and coworking spaces and its rooms are built especially for remote workers. These are compact apartments that focus on the living space (rather than the bedroom) and provide all the modern working amenities expected by the modern bleisure guest.

• Accor’s Wojo is a remote working initiative providing a la carte spaces conducive to work within the company’s existing hotels. These are divided into three offerings. Wojo Sites, which are communal co-worker and social hubs; Wojo Corners, quiet working nooks within hotels and in airports and train stations; and Wojo Spots, drop-in, cafe-style co-working rooms in hotel lobbies.

• Wyndham Dubai has seen the need for good quality co-working spaces and created an integrated facility called NEST. Users can book a space by the hour, by the day, or for longer if they need. These business guests enjoy coffee and snacks, business centre services, and use of facilities such as the pool and gym.

How can I adapt to the Bleisure trend?

The benefits of day rooms as office spaces.

The use of day rooms will make sense for many hotels, especially those in locations where guests are often just stopping through for a single night. This will also make good sense for seasonal locations that experience maxed out rooms over holiday periods but have a good number of rooms empty in the shoulder seasons. Making use of these downtimes and gaps between check-ins is simply good business.

Day rooms can be offered as office spaces for people in your community, available on a day-to-day basis. Remote workers may find a workday in a hotel room allows them to focus better than they would at home. They also have the hotel’s hospitality amenities on hand and may even nip to the gym or take a dip in the pool to get the blood pumping.

The must-haves for the perfect day room office space.

●        A good workspace with quality lighting, an ergonomic chair and sizeable desk

●        Reliable high speed Wi-Fi

●        Good access to power outlets, including USB charger stations

●        In room coffee and tea facilities

●        Access to hotel amenities

●        Access to business suite facilities such as printers and meeting rooms

●        Flexible booking and special offers to entice loyal customers

●        Concierge services

●        Free or discounted parking

Offer quality sustenance for the busy workers.

For those looking for an alternative to home office or communal workspaces, hotels also offer another major benefit: food and drink on hand.

Rather than eating leftovers (or heating up a random can of beans from the back of the pantry), being able to skip down to the lobby and choose from a range of sit down and grab-and-go meals makes breaking for lunch so much better for the bleisure guest. Make sure there’s a suitable menu for working lunches, and even offer room service to those hiring day rooms.

Make the most of meeting spaces.

For some, the hotel’s business suite may be of more use than a day room. This can be offered as an option for those who prefer a more dynamic work environment, inspired by the activity a hotel can bring. Allowing lone wolves and small teams the possibility of using meeting rooms as co-working spaces also provides the possibility for networking with other professionals – which is an important aspect of co-working for many.

Make smarter use of your space.

Let’s face it, at certain times of the year, some of your facilities and spaces will sit empty. Creating this double life for your hotel is a way to ensure every space on offer is paying its way.

Hotels generally have an atmosphere conducive to business. There’s bustling activity at the heart of a building, and clean and quiet spaces available down every corridor. Getting the most out of these amenities while providing a much-needed service to visitors and remote workers in your area is a clear win-win.