Here is an idea for you economic developers to share with your hospitality sector. Some big-city hotels and beachfront resorts are swapping room nights for day rates aimed at people whose work from home or study from home set-ups are less than ideal. Empty rooms offer wi-fi, a desk, private bath, and QUIET, and for the hotels, some revenue beats no revenue. Why not in the suburbs and small towns? Sure, doing it every day is probably out of budget (but what a great perk for employers to offer), but the match could probably work out once in a while – after all, a lot of office workers are saving money on lunches and dry cleaning.
Even prior to the pandemic companies like Dayuse (www.dayuse.com) partnered with hotels, primarily in major cities and beach towns, to offer day rooms or hourly rates (no, not that kind), but the options are expanding every day.
Media outlets from the Wall Street Journal, to CNN, to NBC and Forbes are doing feature stories, and by late summer and fall large chains like Marriott and Hyatt started to market special packages that add in the option to turn their “kids clubs” into full-fledged supervised schoolrooms. Boutique hotels are getting in on the game too.
Besides hotels, some restaurants are looking for their best way to make a play for this revenue stream. In fact Workvana (www.workvana.com) is actively seeking restaurants to partner with who can offer dedicated working space during the hours that they are normally vacant.
Here’s my question, though – most of the stories that are out there so far have focused on big cities, big properties, or big resorts. Is this something that your local properties could benefit from? Are they doing it quietly already? Maybe a little too quietly?