As 2020 turns into 2021, working from home continues to dominate our professional lives but cabin fever is starting to set in for some. Research by Accor has found that 41 per cent of people in the UK feel their work-life balance has worsened, while 22 per cent feel less productive owing to distractions.
So how about a change of scenery? Hotels have lots of empty rooms and are marketing them as clean and safe workspaces that can be rented by the day, week or month. Embracing the “work from anywhere” trend, they are hoping that vacant rooms will be filled, while workers will get the peace they need alongside access to hotel facilities. Here are some “work from hotel” schemes operating in the UK and further afield.
HOTEL GROUPS
Accor
- Programme: Hotel Office
- What’s included? Private rooms with in-room amenities and access to on-site bars, restaurants and wellbeing rooms, subject to availability in participating hotels
- Location: 220 hotels currently in operation in the UK, 70 across Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and South America; more to come in Europe and Russia
- Timings: Daily (9am-6pm) or a five-day package
- Extras: Breakfast, a snack or lunch on the go
- Price: From £35 per day; members of ALL – Accor Live Limitless get a 5 per cent discount
- all.accor.com
The Ascott Limited
- Programme: Work in Residence
- What’s included? Studios and apartments with high-speed wifi, coffee and tea, printing facilities in reception, and parking, subject to availability at participating properties
- Location: Over 90 properties across more than 20 countries
- Timings: Daily (8am-7pm), weekly or monthly packages
- Extras: Widescreen monitors, webcams for videoconferencing, Bluetooth speakers, food delivery, grocery shopping, printing, concierge services, in-room chef
- Price: From £69
- the-ascott.com
Day Break Hotels
- What’s included? This website allows guests to book rooms, suites and apartments at partners including Radisson Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotels and Resorts and NH Hotels
- Location: International
- Timings: Hourly or daily (hours vary per hotel)
- Price: Varies per hotel
- daybreakhotels.com
Hilton
- Programme: Workspaces by Hilton
- What’s included? Rooms with a desk, tea and coffee and enhanced wifi. Access to gyms, pools, dining areas and business centres where available. Individual hotels are also offering extras including free parking and bike hire.
- Location: Expected at most Hilton hotels across the UK, plus locations in the US and Canada
- Timings: Daily (hotel hours vary)
- Extras: Breakfast, a snack or lunch
- Price: Varies per hotel. From £75 at Conrad London St James
- workspacesbyhilton.com
Mandarin Oriental
- Programme: Working from M O
- What’s included? Private rooms with high-speed wifi, printing, a dining credit and gym access
- Location: Most city hotels globally
- Timings: Daily (8am-6pm)
- Price: Varies. From £342 at the group’s London property
- mandarinoriental.com
25 Hours Hotel
- Programme: Home Office
- What’s included? Pet-friendly private rooms with high-speed wifi, Nespresso machines, tea, Schindelhauer bikes and Bluetooth speakers
- Location: Select hotels in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Vienna, Zurich
- Timings: Daily or five days
- Price: €50 daily; €200 for five days
- 25hours-hotels.com
LONDON HOTELS
The Dorchester
- Programme: Working Away
- What’s included? A private suite for up to six guests with an on-call IT concierge, tea and coffee and a £100 spa and dining credit
- Timings: Daily (7am-7pm)
- Price: From £1,275
- Validity: Until November 30, 2020*
- dorchestercollection.com
K West Hotel and Spa
- Programme: Work from Home Alternative
- What’s included? Executive rooms with desks, wifi, tea, coffee, and parking. A week pass includes five full days and a four-night stay with daily breakfast and a room-service dinner on two nights
- Timings: Daily (8am-6pm) or a week pass
- Price: £79 daily; from £550 weekly
- Validity: Until December 30, 2020*
- k-west.co.uk
Shangri-La Hotel at the Shard
- Programme: Meeting in the Sky
- What’s included? A room holding six guests for meetings, with flipcharts, high-speed wifi, printing and Nespresso machines
- Timings: Daily (7.30am-5pm)
- Extras: Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea
- Price: £390
- Validity: Until December 31, 2020*
- shangri-la.com
The Stafford
- What’s included? A Mews suite with a desk and a two-course lunch in-room or in the restaurant
- Timings: Daily (8am-6pm)
- Extras: Timings can be extended
- Price: From £395
- Validity: Until December 31, 2020*
- thestaffordlondon.com
* Correct at the time of going to press
