Coworking and hospitality: How to ensure the perfect match?

Since the health crisis, many hotels have transformed into coworking spaces. It's a beneficial concept for clients who work remotely and for hoteliers seeking additional revenue streams.

The advantages of offering coworking spaces in hotels

1. Attracting an international clientele

International workers, whether employees or self-employed, have a specific demand: to find a place that combines work and rest. The trend of digital nomadism has led to an increase in the number of international workers who often stay for medium-term periods. By offering coworking spaces, you meet this specific need and can more easily attract an international clientele.

For example, Melià Hotels International has launched an experience called Workation. This experience combines work and leisure, allowing people to work from hotels while enjoying the environment they offer.

2. Meeting a growing demand

It's not only international workers who are looking for coworking spaces. Hotels that have already embraced coworking spaces report that the motivation for this innovation comes from a strong demand from startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the vicinity.

According to a Microsoft study on work trends, 73% of employees wish to continue benefiting from remote work after the pandemic.

This trend is likely to persist beyond the pandemic. According to L'Opinion, 20% of workspaces in France will be coworking spaces by 2027.

3. Generating additional revenue

By transforming some of your spaces into coworking areas, you can easily generate additional revenue by charging for access to the space, certain available rooms, food and beverage services, or a package of inclusive services (relaxation area, WiFi connection, printer, beverages, power outlets).

4. Fostering customer loyalty

Create a unique environment and atmosphere that will make your customers want to come back. One key success factor for coworking hotels is the focus on events and building a community. Organize events within your establishment to facilitate connections among your clients.

Transform your hotel into a place for sharing, networking, and professional encounters.

5. Maximizing the use of all spaces in your establishments

You probably have a space in your establishment that is currently underutilized or not used at all. Instead of using it as storage or a warehouse, consider using it to maximize your business by creating a workspace.

How to set up a coworking space in your hotel?

Determine your coworking offering based on your available space

Before deciding on the coworking offering you want to implement, it's important to choose the perfect location within your establishment that can be converted into a coworking space. Opt for a quiet area, away from any noise-prone spots.

Once you've identified the space for your shared workspaces, you can define the offering you want to provide to your clients.

Generally, there are four types of coworking offerings in hotels:

• Common spaces that are freely accessible and available for all hotel guests.
• Quiet and isolated spaces that are paid and can be reserved by the hour, half-day, or full-day.
• Paid spaces dedicated to companies looking to hold meetings or seminars.
• Hotel rooms transformed into individual offices.

Many coworking spaces offer monthly membership cards to foster customer loyalty.

For your information, today, 2 out of 3 hotels have a paid coworking space available for both external customers and guests staying at the hotel.

Determine your coworking offerings based on your target audience

Analyze your target audience in order to determine which coworking offerings to choose for your establishment.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are our targets groups of people or individual workers?
• Do we prefer to focus on B2C or B2B?
• Do we want to attract external clients or retain our existing clients?

The main clients for this type of establishment are Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1994) and Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2010), who are looking for flexible work and professional autonomy, even before seeking the stability of employment.

According to blogger Daniela Sprung, clients of coworking spaces have five main criteria to choose the one that suits them best:

• Cleanliness
• Accessibility
• Availability of a printer
• High-speed internet
• A relaxation area with coffee, meals, microwave, etc.

These criteria can easily be met by a hotel. This space should be clearly visible in the establishment, with a distinct ambiance, for example. Simply integrating tables in the lobby is not sufficient.

Before opting for this strategic direction, it is important to determine what your primary product is. Indeed, transitioning to a hotel coworking space can, in the long term, be seen as a shared office space rather than an accommodation establishment.

Coworking spaces for physical and virtual connection

These hotels have already embraced coworking:

BOB Hôtel & Coworking

This Parisian hotel offers a coworking space available 24/7 throughout the week. It provides unlimited WiFi access and offers hot beverages and snacks. The space is designed with three different ambiances to cater to different working preferences.

The Playce Hotel

This 4-star hotel in the heart of Paris provides fully equipped meeting rooms in its coworking space. The meeting rooms feature amenities such as flat-screen TVs, whiteboards, and high-speed WiFi, making them ideal for organizing seminars and business meetings.

Deskopolitan

Deskopolitan enables its clients to develop all their ideas by providing various amenities in its coworking space, including workstations, meeting rooms, a restaurant, a gym, and even an associative daycare facility.

Here are some important points to consider before setting up a coworking space:

Integrating a coworking space into a hotel is a decision that should be carefully considered.

It is important to define a strategy in advance that focuses on your target audience, budget, and ultimate goal.

Offering a coworking space contributes to shaping the future of work.