Hotels Install Office Amenities to Lure Bay Area Teleworkers Out of the House
HEALDSBURG (KPIX) -- More hotels are fashioning rooms into office spaces as working from home becomes a longterm option for many Bay Area professionals.
Thanh Nguyen reported to work Monday from the comfort of his suite at the Harmon Guest House, a hotel in downtown Healdsburg.
The state-of-the-art Altwork Station is just one of the perks it recently rolled out to appeal to work-from-home professionals.
"The ability to come in and really just crank out -- my wife and I were talking about this in that -- if I could just have six or seven hours of dedicated (time) at least once a week, I could do so much," said Nguyen.
The San Francisco resident runs a services business out of the city but the office is closed due to the pandemic. He has a second home in Healdsburg and three young children.
"They just come marching in and I'm on my Zoom call talking about a presentation that we're delivering and they're marching and playing and, you know, it's cute, it's humanizing, everybody has to deal with it but it's a distraction," he said.
At Harmon Guest House, guests can book one of the Founders Suites for 12 hours for $300. Access to amenities is included. For overnight stays, the Altwork Station can be requested for an additional $200.
"I think that now so many people have been given the OK to work remotely and I think people are going to take advantage of that," said Circe Sher, president of Piazza Hospitality, which owns Harmon Guest House. "They're going to go to different places and escape the noise at home and have the opportunity to really concentrate."
The pandemic has put a dent in the hotel industry. After being closed for nearly three months, Harmon Guest House says business is less than 50 percent of what it was this time last year.
Hotel Zetta in San Francisco's Union Square is also getting creative. Right now, it's offering specials only to people traveling on essential business. Rooms come with a Peloton bike and a meditation headband.
"If I needed to take a nap, I could take a nap too and I'm pretty sleep-deprived in general, so that would work for me," added Nguyen.
