Het Nieuwe Kantoor, Utrecht — Photo by Horwath

The new concept of coworking hotels is on the rise, according to research by Horwath HTL. In coworking hotels the hotel facilities are integrated with coworking spaces, where hotel guests and locals gather to work and meet. In this way, coworking hotels offer a hybrid of working, sleeping and living, that anticipates the needs of millennials and the strong growing group of digital nomads.

In coworking hotels the hotel room is no longer the primary product. For the modern hotel guest the workplace is almost as important as the room, if not more important. Coworking hotels offer a lively, central place where the guests have diverse opportunities to work alone or together. The most successful coworking hotels create a community and organise events, which can facilitate connections between the guests themselves, but also with the locals. By integrating the combination of work facilitites, home facilities, and leisure facilities and by offering hospitality services, coworking hotels are anticipating the needs of digital nomads.

The term 'Digital nomads' represents the growing group of people who, thanks to the internet, work remotely and can work and communicate at any time anywhere in the world. Driven by globalisation and the 'gig' economy, the current generation of millennials especially benefits from flexible work hours and autonomy over their workplace and work style. The number of coworking members is expected to increase from 1.2 million in 2017 to 3.8 million in 2020 according to Emergent Research.

The increase in number of digital nomads aound the world has led to an increase in coworking spaces. In 2020 this number is expected be doubled from 13,800 to 26,000 coworking spaces worldwide. This is also influencing the office market. By offering flexible workplaces, real estate can be used more efficiently. A logical result is to accommodate the travelling digital nomads. In addition, offices are not used in the evenings and on weekends, which are the moments hotels are generally the busiest. Both industries are anticipating the rise of digital nomads.

Industry Report Coworking Hotels

The industry report on coworking hotels is a publication of consultancy firm Horwath HTL. The report shows the results that derive from the data collected by desk research and semi structured interviews. The nine industry experts who contributed to the report are active in the hotel industry, coworking industry or in a combination of both industries in The Netherlands. The publication on coworking hotels is now available.

Horwath HTL

Horwath HTL is an international consultancy firm specialised in hotels tourism and leisure with 45 offices in 38 countries. In The Netherlands Horwath HTL is located in Hilversum. Besides the industry reports Horwath HTL publishes the HOSTA report (Hotel Statistics), Compensation & Benefits for the Dutch Hotel Industry and the GOSTA (Golf Statistics) periodically. More information can be found on our website: www.HorwathHTL.nl.

Desirée Oey
Horwath