With hotel occupancies at or near record lows because of the
ongoing coronavirus outbreak and government-imposed travel restrictions,
properties are looking for new ways to generate revenue. In fact, 91 per cent
of 973 hotels throughout the world surveyed this month by online meeting
booking platform MeetingsBooker.com are considering repurposing some of their
sleeping rooms as workspaces, and 37 per cent already have had specific
requests for this service from clients.
To accommodate this new need, MeetingsBooker.com has
upgraded its white-label booking solution to allow hotels to offer suites and
bedrooms for remote working spaces in addition to small meeting spaces,
according to the company. Guests now can book by the hour as well as order food
to their room.
"These are challenging times for the industry, but
we're starting to see alternative usage of hotel spaces as an emerging
trend," said MeetingsBooker.com founder and CEO Ciaran Delaney. "I
think the main feedback from our hotel partners is they are open to innovation
and our white-label workspace solution provides an interesting ancillary
revenue opportunity."
The survey was conducted 9-10 April.