The new working trend is to include lounge areas for workers inside hotels, with chatting sofas and gyms for destressed people
Nowadays working means lowering your barriers and feeling comfortable in environments able to stimulate physical and mental fluidity: contemporary workers don’t rest their elbows on their desks and in some cases don’t even have one.
They prefer to work on benches, sofas and social tables that offer social connections and favor the sharing of thoughts and ideas. They are no longer forced to stay inside cubicles and treasure space, now offices are open and innovative.
In an era where everything is easily accessible, the words comfort and work perfectly complement each other: job deadlines, glaring laptop screens and infinite meetings inside narrow spaces are evolving towards comfort and diversity.
The latest trends for Smart Workers and Digital Nomads is to work inside hotels.
Work Inside Hotels
Being “out of contex” is no longer a feeling known in the world of work: freelancers are relatively free and have a wide range of places in which they can organize and manage their activities.
Some years ago it was home that fully suited workers’ needs, but now it’s better to find comfort inside a luxury hall, a lounge area or a private zone with sofas, low tables and huddle rooms, which fits the new style of working for contemporary entrepreneurs and freelancers.
Dynamism and new external stimuli are all enclosed in a single world – diversity is also a plus with many people and services to find. The hotel embraces all of these things by welcoming workers with a full equipped space.
The hotellerie adds new zones inside their buildings: one or more structured areas for workers that spend their time there or for the ones who live nearby and are searching for a productive working space.
Hotels don’t offer distractions to workers, but rather warm and calm atmospheres while simultaneously creating opportunities to meet other professionals like managers and business men. Being in such a calm space lets people be more relaxed and stay stress free.
Work inside Hotels, an International Overview
Hotels are the new place for international workers: many of the biggest cities of the world can count on structures with ample spaces designed for freelancers and managers.
The trend was born in the United States –from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco– but has rapidly spread across Europe. Like in London, where the Southwark hotel, property of The Hoxton, offers a “Working form” born to let freelancers work inside a space equipped for Digital Nomads. In Paris, the Bob in Montparnasse, gives the opportunity to work all day ling inside the lobby, the lounge area and the patio- allowing people to relax inside the Hammam, while the Fairmont in Montecarlo has a reserved Octagon area to work with the stunning view of the sea. Finally, Amsterdam also has a perfect place for freelancers and smart workers: the Citizen, very close to the airport.
Work inside hotels in Italy
Italy too is open to this trend, rapidly spreading across the nation thanks to the Italian “calling” for hospitality. Milan, with the B&B Central Station, has free wi-fi and a dedicated area for meetings, workshops and conferences, while the Double Tree Lingotto in Torino has a garden and an ample lounge available for freelancers.
If the Bnbiz in Piacenza gives the chance to rent lockers and presents itself like a coworking hotel, the Hilton Hotel of Como Lake also offers specific services such as secretarial services and printing.
Florence’s Student Hotel offers professionals the chance to use the gym, while in the “Collab” area some meeting rooms, private offices and benches are rentable. Going south is Rome another city embracing the trend with the Hotel De La Ville: freelancers can access the lounge and lobby areas, while the NH Panorama in Naples has a working space in the lobby, accessible for guests and external visitors.
Work inside hotels, Level Office Landscape’s choice
Level Office Landscape has a new business plan dedicated to the development of working spaces inside hotels, supported by its experience in the office furniture field:
“This new trend gives the workers even more comfort inside hotellerie spaces and that’s why we decided to kick-off A new kind of hotel, our development project in this specific field” says Massimo Gianquitto, Level’s CEO “What we aim to do is to introduce new working and relaxation spaces for smart workers and business men inside Italian hotels. Our goal is to ensure flexible environments with all the technical specifications required in a conventional workspace. We are ready to translate our expertise into the hotellerie field, taking care of the new generations and their working methods: Always on. Also, relaxation is a necessity for contemporary workers which have to find spaces to develop relations and build their social connections. We are sure that the hotel has the perfect balance between private and work life and will be the place to work over the coming years”.
Work inside hotels: 8 must-haves
To ensure a productive environment for coworking and smart working, these are the 8 must haves for work areas inside hotels:
1. Shared lounges
Having specific areas with functions beyond the traditional hotel reception area is fundamental. They must be big and ample, with private areas for focus work, chatting sofas and soft seating. It represents the evolution of comfortable lounge areas available for all hotel guests.
2. Shared working spaces
Desks and benches with secretarial and printing services are essential must haves. Also, lockers (cabinets to contain personal belongings) are needed for workers who don’t have a room reservation inside the hotel.
3. Pod and phone booths
Privacy is the keyword: pods and phone booths allow professionals to call and have video conferences without disturbing others (or being disturbed). These areas are the contemporary idea of the older telephone booths.
4. Collaborative huddle rooms
Accessorized meeting rooms with sensors able to regulate the atmosphere in terms of lighting, temperature and privacy. Huddle rooms are self-supporting boxes where professionals can work together and concentrate thanks to acoustic insulation. Comfort is ensured by air-filtration systems.
5. Flexible spaces
Movable walls are perfect to create flexible spaces for training sessions, meetings and conferences with many participants: they can rapidly change areas of a hotel. Together with innovative products such as Smart Wall or Digital Board, ensuring faster meeting sessions by integrating technology inside furniture.
6. Ergonomic office furniture
To lower the stress level and ensure people’s comfort, it’s essential to furnish working spaces inside hotels with ergonomic desks, sofas and seating.
7. Lightscapes
Lighting is an essential aspect of any office and, in general, every workspace: inside the hall and the lounge area of a “coworking hotel” the level of light must respect the ones imposed by office regulations.
8. Biophilic design
A green touch can increase worker’s productivity up to 15% and increase a worker’s wellbeing and mood. Plants and indoor greenery are a good choice for new hotel working areas.
Are you interested in changing some of your hotel areas into smart working or coworking spaces to host more than hotel guests?
It’s a good way to extend your target and maximize the flow of people inside the hotel, also in the bar and the restaurant areas. To know more about Level Office Landscape’s design solutions, contact our experts here