Workplaces ‘becoming hotels’ to better serve employees

If you sit in a communal area of your office, could you be in a hotel instead of a workplace? Workplace supplies company, Banner, discusses recent changes in office layouts…

A look around an office these days looks very different to years gone by. The introduction of co-working spaces and the normalisation of hybrid working has led to a new trend being called the ‘hotelification’ of the office.

For businesses who have staff in the office less than three days a week, the temptation to reduce costs has been met with a system of renting the limited number of desks.

Alex Winstanley, Head of New Business at Banner, said: “It’s clear in recent years, particularly following the pandemic and wide-adoption of working from home, that the traditional office environment and workplace practices do not meet an employee’s needs.

“With the obvious perks of working from home, employers are now reimaging their workspaces to better attract employees back to the office.
“The advent of co-working spaces has added fuel to this fire, so forward-thinking businesses who want to maintain a traditional office need to start considering hotelifying their space if they want to compete – because office aesthetics and services are more important to employees now than ever before. 

“The challenge for employers looking to ‘hotelise’ their office is knowing where to begin. Fortunately, creating a new workspace can be quite straightforward with the help of experienced workplace supplies partners who can help design floor plans, source inclusive furniture, and assist with new office installations.”

Just like a hotel, you book a desk like you might book a room – but Banner believe the services and aesthetic are morphing into hotels too.

They said co-working spaces are striving to be an inviting destination full of additional health, wellbeing and recreational activities such as yoga classes, on-site gyms, serviced meeting rooms and childcare options.

Banner said this is the kind of thing employees are on the lookout for as search term, such as “office cafe” and “office gym” have risen in search volume over the last three years.