What Are “Workations” & How Can Hotels Maximize Them?

Attracting remote workers with wanderlust

As remote work has grown more popular, millions of people have started to change their relationships with the office. Suddenly, they have the freedom to work from wherever they choose—including on the go. These roving workers are now mixing work and vacation in the aptly named “workation.”

These workationers represent an exciting new audience for hospitality businesses. Here’s how you can attract them to your hotel.

What is a workation?

A workation, which can also be spelled “workcation” or “worcation,” is a blend of remote work and leisure travel. As remote work has grown more common, many workers have gained flexibility about how and where they spend their workdays. So long as they get all their work done on time, they’re free to work whenever and wherever they want.

That might mean picking up the kids from school in the middle of the workday before catching up after hours. Or, in the case of the workation, it might mean clocking in from a hotel room in an exotic location.

How much work does a person need to do to consider their vacation a workation? Is it still a workation if you hop on a call once a day, or do you need to spend eight full hours at a desk each day of your trip? What if your vacation is a staycation with some work? For now, everyone is setting their own standards, but the bottom line is, if work and leisure are both happening, it’s a workation.

To make sure your guests have everything they need, refer to our guide Hotel Supplies: The Complete Operator's Checklist.

How to attract workationers to your hotel

Workationers are a unique class of travelers with their own needs and desires. They also represent a new type of customer for hotels and other hospitality businesses to target. By implementing some of these recommendations, you can make your hotel that much more attractive to them.

High-speed internet

If a guest is on a workation, their only non-negotiable amenity is a reliable and fast internet connection. The internet is how they connect with their teammates. It may even be their only way to access the tools they work with. Easy connectivity and a stable connection are paramount.

As video calls have grown more common, the minimum requirements for internet speed have also risen. High-quality video calls transfer a lot of data very quickly. If your internet is too slow, guests may experience choppy calls. Worse, they may drop out unexpectedly.

As a baseline, make sure that your WiFi is easy to join in all your rooms. Next, do the same for all the likely workspaces in your hotel. That might include cafes, business centers, lounges or even bars. If you have outdoor areas like courtyards or pools, make sure the signal reaches them.

Dedicated workspaces

The bare minimum for most workationers is a desk in their room, with good lighting, a supportive chair and plenty of outlets. Add a fax machine, scanner, printing equipment or a wired internet connection point to make your rooms even more desirable for workationers. If you have these amenities in some of your rooms already, consider designating them as workation rooms and advertising them as such.

Many workationers prefer to work in public spaces such as cafes. Make sure tables and desks in these areas have sufficient outlets nearby so that guests can charge their devices.

Some workers will also appreciate a quieter environment that helps them focus. To keep the noise level down, consider offering carrels or other small, sound-insulating spaces where guests can make calls without disturbing other workers.

For more on what to include in your hotel rooms, read The 5 Essential Hotel Toiletry Supplies Every Room Needs.

Flexible stay options

Workations can last any length of time. Some workers will just need a day of access to a desk (or a poolside chair) with no overnight stay. Others may want to stay longer, but need earlier check-in times or later check-out times to accommodate their workdays.

Consider creating pricing and lodging categories specifically built to accommodate workationers.  For example, you might charge a lower rate for a day pass to your office space to give workationers a place to focus without affecting occupancy.

To attract longer stays, consider offering a discount on those over 30 days. These long-term occupations can also include perks such as flexible housekeeping services so that workers don’t have their meetings interrupted.

Looking for a list of must-have housekeeping supplies? Read 7 Essential Hotel Housekeeping & Cleaning Supplies.

Activities for kids

Workation can give busy parents a chance to take their families on an adventure without using up precious time off. If both parents need to work during the day, they’ll deeply appreciate any childcare your hotel can provide.

Providing supervised activities for children can take the pressure off their parents and make the kids’ vacations even more exciting.

Board games, lawn games and pool time under the eyes of childcare professionals are all easy ways to make workationing at your hotel more attractive to parents. To take those activities to the next level, you can design educational activities or day trips to attractions in the area. When the kids return to their parents, they’ll have plenty to tell them.

Meet the workation wave with Walmart Business

Are your guest rooms workation-ready? If not, you can get them up to snuff with Walmart Business. Shop for desks, WiFi signal extenders and other useful hotel supplies at low prices, and get free shipping on orders over $35¹ if you have a Walmart Business account.

You can save even more when you sign up for Walmart Business+. Combine free shipping¹ with 2% back in Walmart Rewards on orders of $250 or more,² and you could save over $500 a year.³

Start your Walmart Business+ membership today.

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.

³ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).