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 percent 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 that 37 percent 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 April 9-10.