Hotels have already turned their lobbies into spaces where guests can socialize or work. Now, some properties are going one step further to cater to business travelers and professionals in general: They’ve set up WeWork-style co-working areas.
The new hotel business centers seem to have struck a chord among business travelers who find that they’re probably getting less work done in busy hotel lobbies, said Lorraine Sileo, the senior vice president of research for the travel research company Phocuswright. “Lobbies are distracting because there is so much going on, with people coming in and out and also socializing,” she said. “These new work spaces are meant for productivity.”
They’re also especially attractive to younger business travelers, said Jessica Collison, the research director for the Global Business Travel Association. “Millennials tend be more nomadic than the older generation of travelers and spend more time outside of their room,” she said. “Hotels have picked up on this, and more of them are offering a co-working option.”
The AC Hotel Phoenix Biltmore, for example, which opened in October, offers the indoor and outdoor AC Lounge, on the side of its lobby. The more than 5,000-square-foot light gray space has several couches, a large communal table with electrical outlets at every seat and a 20-seat high table that’s a working area by day and a bar after 4 p.m. Guests and non-guests are welcome to use the lounge without charge, said David Belk, the hotel’s general manager, and can get free coffee and biscotti. The lounge’s small library has computers, printers and office supplies like paper clips and folders.
The co-working area at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in North Carolina, called Coco and the Director, is more compact than the AC Lounge. It has two tables with eight seats each and a whiteboard with markers that guests can use during meetings for notes, said Seamus Gallagher, the property’s director of guest experience. It also offers a for-purchase menu of coffee and sandwiches.
Although access is free for anyone, seats must be reserved by signing up on the chalkboard near the co-working area entrance. “You can stay for as long as you want,” Mr. Gallagher said, “and our staff will give you any office supplies you need and help with printing documents.”
Pivot62 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Vail, which opened in March, also offers a co-working space that’s free for guests and non-guests. It has workstations, conference rooms and a kitchen area with free coffee.
Hotels see the co-working spaces as a way to build loyalty with both hotel guests and the general public, said Adam Weissenberg, the head of travel, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte. “These spaces are often sleek looking and help raise a hotel’s profile,” he said. “They’re not going to lose money from them because anyone who uses them is likely to hang out at the hotel when they’re done working and order drinks or food.”
Mr. Weissenberg noted that several recently opened hotels that have co-working spaces charge non-guests for access. “The fees aren’t high, but the amenities they have generally warrant a charge,” he said.
The Revolution Hotel, for one, which opened on Dec. 5 in Boston’s South End neighborhood, charges non-guests $20 a day for access to its co-working space, Conspire. The space offers communal tables, bar-style seating, couches and an eight-person conference room. Kate Buska, the vice president of brand development for Provenance Hotels, the company that runs the hotel, said that Conspire offers free coffee all day and free fruit and pastries in the morning. “Later in January, we’re going start a regular happy hour where we pour local beers,” she said.
Eaton DC’s new co-working space, Eaton House, is spread over three levels and has desks, communal areas, conference rooms and private offices. It charges non-guests three tiers of monthly membership: a $400 entry level, called the Nomad, gets members a drop-in desk; the $800 level, the Pioneer, comes with a dedicated desk; and the top tier, the Collective, which starts at $1,800 a month, comes with a private office. (WeWork’s charges vary by location but start at $190 a month for a desk and $450 a month for an office.)
Guests at the Eaton hotel get the drop-in desk and other Nomad benefits, said Eaton’s founder, Katherine Lo.
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