IHIF 2021

Hospitality needs to adapt to capture new generation of remote workers

Traditional holiday resorts should start introducing proper areas where people can work effectively to meet the changing needs of travellers.

Speaking at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, Germany, LRO Hospitality chief investment officer Henri Wilmes said the last 18 months during the Covid-19 pandemic have seen people shift their attitudes to where and how they work with many offices closed.

He argued this mindset will continue as the world opens again, ensuring that new opportunities are appearing that hoteliers can take advantage of.

Wilmes said: “We’ve spent the last 18 months combining the work life and private life in a different way and there will be some changes in how we work and where we work." 

“I definitely see resorts creating spaces where people can come and work but have a break as well.”

Meanwhile, Equinox Hotels CEO Christopher Norton said hotels will need to steal ideas from each other if they are to prosper, for instance with lifestyle hotels that offer experiences needing to learn from the luxury sector, and vice versa.

He added: “The challenge for the traditional luxury brand is they’ve got to be more innovative and the lifestyle brands have to have better service.”

Norton said city hotels also need to do more to attract the local community to use their services more, which would also benefit customers staying in the properties as well as the hotel operators.

He added Equinox had been able to do this by encouraging members of the local community to sign up for gym membership in their hotels with the scheme being so successful they now have 400,000 members at their 108 gyms.

Norton said: “Just imagine of all those people are then going to the pool or the restaurant or the bar.”

In which case, he argued not only does the hotel generate extra revenue but the traveller staying at the property is more likely to feel they have had an authentic experience as a result of the influx and book again as a result.

Norton also argued that the more city hotels can promote local attractions, the more experiences the customer can enjoy and ensuring they are more likely to book again.