New ways to work are reshaping the places we work – from transformed hotel lobbies to workspace on demand
The office just isn’t what it used to be. With an increasingly mobile workforce, offices and cubicles are just as likely to be empty as occupied at any given time, as workers conduct business on the road. But in this mode they still need office support. To meet that demand, more and more travel providers are offering alternative workspaces with attractive features.
“Tapping into workplace alternatives is a fast growing trend,” says Mark Gilbreath, CEO of online booking engine LiquidSpace. “Employees appreciate having the choice to select a workspace that fits their needs.”
This is especially true for those seeking more than just a seat where they can juggle a laptop, phone and notepad on their knees. To satisfy that need, hotels, airports and other providers are placing more attention on providing workplace alternatives. The ultimate goal: assuring that travelers can work efficiently and comfortably no matter where they are. This growing movement has implications not just for road warriors, but for travel programs as well.
“Travel managers are finding value in moving beyond addressing interests of control and compliance to thinking more holistically about how their workforce can be productive on the road,” says Kevin Carl, managing director at Accenture Hospitality and Travel Services.
Hotel TransformationsIn response to the trend toward a more mobile workforce, many hotels are upgrading options for guests to take care of business.
“Hoteliers are seizing on the opportunity this trend represents and they are beginning to offer flexible work and collaboration spaces within the hotel as a means of making some additional revenue as well as deepening relevancy with their customers,” Carl says. At the same time, he notes, the need for functional collaborative space is evolving to include space that can also support productive and professional audio and video collaboration.
Marriott’s Workspace on Demand offerings, for instance, provide short-term, easily bookable spaces powered by the online booking engine LiquidSpace. Spaces are designed to allow travelers to meet, work and collaborate in an efficient and comfortable manner.
"This arrangement allows mobile workers to easily book short-term spaces by the hour or the day, offering them a creative, yet efficient working environment," says John Wolf, Marriott's vice president global brand public relations. "With Workspace on Demand, we’re inviting people into our lobbies and giving them access to reserve a variety of free and paid spaces that best fit their needs."
Configurations and types of spaces vary. Private conference and board rooms are not the only option. In some properties, guests may choose to work in media pods and communal tables in the lobby, wine rooms, poolside cabanas or beachfront chickee huts. The array of support services may include WiFi, office supplies and printer access.
With Starwood’s specialty select brands – Aloft, Element and Four Points – the company has emphasized dynamic spaces that serve the needs of business travelers, notes Brian McGuinness, global brand leader.
“Each property has unique personalities which make every public/work space different,” he says. At Element Hotels, light-filled public areas have been designed to allow guests to work in a stress-free environment, whether in a nature-inspired lobby area or a meeting room. “The natural color palette and open spaces were designed to help guests achieve balance while on the road, especially when traveling for an extended period of time,” McGuinness says.
Aloft properties, on the other hand, represent the company’s incubator brand, with meeting spaces and public areas configured to offer a high-tech, high-touch experience. Features include high capacity wireless, plentiful charging stations and other technical support.
Along with transforming lobbies or other group space, hotels are also making guest rooms more user-friendly for conducting business. That’s the approach taken at Extended Stay America Hotels. “We provide comfortable away-from-home offices for every guest by offering large rooms featuring dedicated workspaces with ergonomically designed desk chairs and free WiFi,” says Terry Atkins, senior director of marketing communications.
He adds that even when travelers have access to other workspace, they also complete some work in their hotel rooms, citing a recent survey by his company in which a majority of respondents reported working longer hours when away from home on business as opposed to in the home office.
“Regardless of whether they have access to a traditional workspace or not, the majority of people report working at least one to two hours from their hotel room each day and value a comfortable in-room workspace,” he says.
Airport AmenitiesAirports and airlines are also expanding services for business travelers. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, more than 2,400 new power outlets have recently been installed for mobile devices and laptops, according to Perry Cooper, manager of aviation public affairs. Additional standing and sit-down counters have also been constructed for travelers to work on while at the gate areas.
“They have all been very popular and will continue to be part of upgrades throughout the terminal as we build projects,” Cooper says, who notes they have proven helpful to for the fast-moving business traveler.
Use of the airport’s conference center has grown significantly, with an increase of 55 percent over the previous year. “Business travelers love the opportunity to catch an early morning flight, attend their meeting in The Conference Center, and hop on a late afternoon flight to get home in time for dinner with their family,” Cooper says.
He adds that this fosters better work/life balance for busy travelers since they are already at the airport and just have to walk to their flight with no traffic hassles. The center’s location just above a security checkpoint also allows travelers to get a quick look at the length of lines and then plan accordingly.
The airport has also upgraded two lounges with enhancements such as private meeting space and a glassed-off quote area. Overall traffic for port-owned lounge traffic has increased by about 88 percent each year. While usage is not broken out in terms of business versus leisure, overall use has grown from 3,500 users in 2010 to nearly 45,000 in 2014 and, according to Cooper, many of these were there conducting business on the road.
United Airlines has taken a similar focus, recently completing a large-scale project to install thousands of power outlets at many of their airports. “Moving forward, as we renovate airport facilities such as gate areas, we’re looking for options to incorporate work stations for hurried professionals on the go,” says spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm.
Renovations to United’s network of airport lounges have also been focused on the business traveler, providing varied types of work spaces within each club to accommodate changing needs and space expectations. Along with complimentary WiFi, features include power at nearly every seat, bar-height tables, lounge chairs with end tables and in a number of lounges, private offices with a desk and door.
“The goal is to create a club that caters to a variety of tastes while offering a work place where all customers can be productive in a comfortable environment,” Dohm says. “Other details such as wireless printing are also being added.”
Companies that that provide workspace to travelers are also seeing growing demand. That’s the story at LiquidSpace, which offers on-demand access to more than 5,500 workspaces across 600 cities. Users may book private offices, co-working spaces, meeting rooms, business centers or training rooms on short notice for as long as needed. Through the company’s mobile apps, business travelers can determine exactly what is available nearby and complete the booking in a minimum of steps.
“It used to be that when you traveled, your workplace options were a client’s office, your hotel, a coffee shop and the airport,” Gilbreath says. “Mobile professionals have many more choices today.” He says that corporate travel managers like the flexibility newer types of arrangements provide to their employees. While travelers benefit from easy access to workspace, travel managers can take advantage of features such as the ability to customize a branded web portal for employees and keep track of company-wide bookings and experiences.
Trending Toward Mobility Looking ahead, an increased focus on alternative workspace seems likely. “For a glimpse at the future, look at tech-savvy business travelers today,” Gilbreath says. “Increasingly, they are managing their work lives from their mobile phones, and that goes way beyond productivity apps to edit documents and project manage on the go.”
He points to mobile apps that provide on-demand services such as car services or cross-town errands. “These services very efficiently solve important needs for business travelers,” he says. “And they’re incredibly cost effective.”
Carl predicts that technology capabilities will become an increasingly important factor as business travelers select destinations and accommodations. “The growing dependence on collaboration technologies is driving increasing bandwidth requirements, especially to support video interactions,” he says. “Those that provide workspace, such as hoteliers, will be increasingly evaluated on their ability to effectively support such bring-your-own-technology experiences on-property.”
He adds that by advocating for provisioning collaboration tools and platforms, travel managers can help enable employees to be productive wherever and whenever their work requires it.
“Travel managers can also support their employees and contract workers more effectively when negotiating corporate contracts.” This can be accomplished, Carl concludes, by moving beyond simply rate-per-room-night negotiations, and getting better value related to WiFi, workspace and collaboration support within contracted rates.