SPOTLIGHT
Remote Control As traditional offices become a thing of the past, Sleeper takes a look at the products serving an emerging class of remote workers in hotel co-working spaces.
E
ven before the Coronavirus crisis saw the world
dedicated for such workers has found a home in the world
undertake the great remote office experiment of 2020,
of hospitality, as valuable assets of hotels. Many projects
the workplace was in a state of flux. The US workforce
that have graced these pages have boasted facilities set
alone counts some 57.3 million freelancers amongst its
aside – and often specifically designed – to be occupied by
ranks according to a survey by Freelancing in America,
a city’s freelancers. Tryp by Wyndham in Dubai has its own
whilst a similar census by the Association of Independent
branded effort in The Nest; Moxy hotels across the USA are
Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) showed that
designed with fluid lite-offices that switch between modern
freelance growth in the UK, France and the Netherlands
workspace and chic after-hours hangout; and Copenhagen’s
throughout 2018 outpaced overall employment rates.
Audo – a hotel-showroom-workspace hybrid – took home
If these trends continue, a number of developed countries
AHEAD Europe’s New Concept award in 2019.
will be on target to hit the 50% mark within the coming
It is not so much a trend but a logical next step. The
decade. As remote capabilities flourish, and the world finds
hotel business centre was once ubiquitous, predating much
its feet post-COVID-19, millions more workers will find
of the freelance revolution and perhaps unknowingly before
themselves no longer tethered to the office.
its time. In the coming years, expect almost every hotel that
Whilst the fall of WeWork signalled to some that the coworking model might simply be a passing trend, this should
has the capacity to – and probably also some that don’t – to adopt the model.
not be considered as an indicator. Once the dust settles, and
The workspace of the future will look a lot different as it
the emergent creative class becomes even larger through the
becomes integrated with the wider trends of hotel design,
knock-on effects of the crisis, they will require a place to
but these products and interior touches could prove the
work, away from the distractions of home life.
selling point for an incoming crowd of remote workers with
In recent years, the co-working concept that sees space
discerning taste.
