All Work and No Play Makes No Sense for a Hotel Stay

More than two-and-a-half years since Covid-19 arrived, large swaths of the labor force continue to work from home. They’re still working from their vacation sites, too. The pandemic further blurred the already vague lines bisecting the world’s work-life balance, and hotel companies have seen the effects in their rooms, lobbies and restaurants. Though the U.S. Travel Association said business travel in 2022 is only roughly 75% of what it was in 2019—and may not fully recover until 2024—leisure travel now exceeds pre-Covid levels. In June, according to hospitality data firm STR, U.S. hotel occupancy reached 70.1%. That’s still 4.3% less than it was in June 2019, but the average $155.04 travelers pay for a nightly stay is up 15.3% from that time. With career site Ladders noting that one in every four jobs in the U.S. is now remote, pent-up leisure travel demand has at least a portion of the population working from the road. A new white paper from IHG Hotels and Resorts-owned Crowne Plaza suggests that "blended travel" (please don’t call it "bleisure" travel) is likely here to stay. Hospitality groups will not only have to pitch to travelers with seemingly divergent needs, but will have to provide services and amenities that cater to both their vacations and vocations. “We've really looked at this idea that there is no longer a work-life balance, that people are constantly flexing between their modes,” Ginger Taggart, vp of global brand management for Crowne Plaza, told Adweek. “This is even accelerated coming out of the pandemic: People are remote working more, they are traveling for leisure and adding on business days, and they're traveling for business and adding on leisure days.” Forget Business or Leisure: It’s All About Essential Travelers Hotel HQ A survey by workplace technology firm Owl Labs noted that 27% of employees who went remote during the pandemic still haven’t returned to the office. Of those who have, 57% said they wish they could work from home again. Meanwhile, data compiled by Crowne Plaza and market research firm Stylus, with polling help from YouGov, suggests those remote employees are increasingly eager to take their work on the road with them. According to their survey of 1,200 U.S. consumers, 35% said it would give them greater flexibility to combine work with a leisure trip overseas, with roughly 20% possibly tacking two to three leisure days on to future business trips. About a third (31%) believed that combining work travel and leisure would help them accelerate their career, while another 39% said it would simply make them happier. “Our business traveler is also our leisure traveler, and our leisure traveler is becoming the business traveler,” Crowne Plaza’s Taggart said. “It is actually creating happier, more engaged workers who are more connected and a bit more creative and inspired: 80% of the respondents said that they had a breakthrough work idea while they were on vacation.” Data Finds a Home in Vacation Rental Marketing The family work vacation Back in spring, vacation rental data firm AirDNA noted that the number of vacation properties available in the U.S. had increased 6% over spring 2019. Caleb Donegan, vp of digital at rental management platform Vacasa, noted that his company approached that news with caution. “We weren’t telling people they should travel across the country,” Donegan said. “We were really focused on drive-to destinations and really focused on people that want to work from home in different locations.” Crowne Plaza’s data indicates that those workers looking for a change of scenery are exactly who the hospitality industry needs to target. Among those it surveyed, 66% said remote work encouraged them to visit new destinations. Another 72% said they enjoyed the ability to take their job to different locations. https://twitter.com/CrownePlaza/status/1521791751182184448 Those guests don’t always arrive solo. The Family Travel Survey conducted by New York University and the Family Travel Association noted that 88% of parents intended to travel with their children in 2022—up from 44% in 2021. With Crowne Plaza pointing out that 26% of U.S. consumers live in a multigenerational household, some travelers will be bringing parents of their own. Meanwhile, according to the American Pet Products Association’s 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey, roughly 45% of dog owners brought their pet with them for at least two nights. Among younger dog owners, that figure rose to 52%. Hotel chains including Kimpton and certain Hilton brands spent the summer touting pet-amenity partnerships with companies like Wag! and Mars Petcare to attract those traveling with non-human companions. They’re a soft sell: According to a Wag! survey, 82% have encountered at least one obstacle when traveling with their pet, while 94% of pet owners would trade at least one common hotel amenity (complimentary beverage, hotel bar, gym, concierge) for more pet-friendly policies. "Pet-friendly accommodations have become such a key factor in not only determining the destination, but where to stay," said Phil Cordell, global category head for Hilton’s lifestyle brands and global brand head for Canopy by Hilton, a pet-friendly property. Barks and Recreation: Kimpton Hotels and Wag App Pamper Traveling Pets Meeting the need So how is Crowne Plaza taking its own advice and catering to working vacationers? Plans include 107 new hotels within the next three years and renovations to half of its 429 locations around the world. Its recently completed Crowne Plaza Kearney in Nebraska is attached to the Younes Conference Center, the largest meeting facility between Omaha and Denver. Its renovations include WorkLife rooms with couches, dedicated workspaces, USB outlets and free Wi-Fi. Its Plaza Workspace hybrid spaces throw nooks, pods and workstations into secluded spaces for workers or their teams, while restricting the old-school meeting and food & beverage spaces for larger gatherings. However, amenities alone can’t address the 33% of consumers who told Crowne Plaza they’re more focused on their mental wellbeing since the pandemic began. More than 20% travel more than they did before the pandemic because it’s improved their mental health. As a result, Crowne Plaza introduced a training program—Dare to Connect—that’s designed to make employees more aware and emotionally intelligent when they’re addressing guests’ needs. “Coming to the bar after a big pitch, the bartenders are asking how that was and creating that connection,” Taggart said. “A well-crafted mojito at the end of the day can be just as important as a well-run meeting.” Travelers Want to Go, but Only If Everyone Can Come Along

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All Work and No Play Makes No Sense for a Hotel Stay

Travelers are increasingly blending business and leisure trips

Jason Notte

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Jason Notte