As COVID-19 Slows Journey, Lodges Create New Initiatives To Appeal to Native Distant Employees

To keep their businesses going amid COVID-19, hotels had to change their approach to making consumers feel comfortable on their properties. While many have rolled out remote work packages, overall travel has been going down since March. To keep their doors open, major hotel companies have started developing new initiatives for locals who work from home.

The Hilton launched the WorkSpaces program back in October to experiment with the idea of ​​offering rooms for the day to remote workers who have to leave their apartments. Select US and UK hotels allow you to pay a daily rate to turn your guest room into a remote office for the day

“COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges the hospitality industry has never faced,” said Arielle Deane, director of brand innovation and planning for Hilton BLACK COMPANY by email. “Hilton is resilient and we are constantly testing new initiatives and programs to see what works best for our guests and owners.”

For properties like the Conrad Hilton Downtown, guests can pay $ 300 and up to enjoy a room for the day with free WiFi and a 4pm cocktail delivered to their room in addition to room service for breakfast and lunch.

“Our recent WorkSpaces by Hilton guests have been looking for a quiet, safe environment to hold conference calls while visiting downtown,” said Marlene Poynder, general manager of Conrad New York Downtown BLACK COMPANY in an email. “Guests say that in our hotel they were able to concentrate and feel present during meetings without being distracted from home.”

Marriott is also following the trend of attracting local residents to work at the hotels by expanding its Bonvoy program. The day pass option offers flexible options for those who want to extend their stay while at work. “For our hotels, an offer like Day Pass complements the customer mix that traditionally consists of business travelers, leisure travelers and group companies,” wrote a spokesman for Marriott BLACK COMPANY about the new program.

Many businesses will be using this type of service for the foreseeable future as businesses need more remote work and even transition to stay completely remote.