Working From UK Holiday Destinations Becomes the Norm
In the UK, as in many other countries, working from home is gradually becoming the new normal. We all know plenty of people who are doing exactly that. Although when and how often they do so is still evolving as employers and employees get used to this new style of working.
The latest data from the UK´s Office of National Statistics (ONS) reflects this fact. In May 2022, only 14% of people were working exclusively from home. Whereas in February 2022, that figure was 17%.
Hybrid working is growing in popularity
However, during the same period, hybrid working has increased in popularity. During the spring of 2022, 38% of people reported that they were being allowed to complete certain work-related tasks at home and only go into the office occasionally. You can dive deeper into the ONS figures to find out more by clicking here.
The impact hybrid working is having on how people travel
Working in this way is having a significant impact on how people live their lives. Including the way they travel. UK workers are taking full advantage of the fact that most employers are quite relaxed about where they do that work. This has created the opportunity for them to travel more frequently and in different ways than they used to pre-pandemic.
The popularity of hybrid UK holidays rises
According to the Virgin Media O2 2022 remote working survey, 27% of the 2,000 people they spoke to were planning to take a “hybrid holiday”. They were going to take their family away for a full-length break but continue to work full time while doing so.
Remote workers enjoying more short breaks
People are also using the flexibility that hybrid working offers them to travel to see friends and family more. Instead of trying to punch their way through traffic on a Saturday morning to see granny, they are opting to get ahead with work. This enables them to leave on Friday afternoon. It entails an extra night in a hotel. But this approach makes for a more relaxed journey. Creating the chance to enjoy several extra long weekends away with family or friends.
This trend is easy to see when you look at recent research carried out by the UK-based travel company, Holiday Extras. When they analysed their booking data, they found that demand for 3-day breaks had risen sharply, during the latter part of 2021. They were up by around 19%, while bookings of formerly traditional two-week breaks were down by 24%. A trend that has continued into 2022.
People actively searching for reliable hotel wi-fi
More evidence of the fact that people are working while away from home can be found in the number of searches there is for hotel Wi-Fi comparison data. Over the past year or so, they have soared. People are extremely keen to stay in UK hotels that offer a reliable connection. When Broadband Genie did some research into which hotel chains offered high-quality internet connections through reliable providers similar to optimum internet, they found 30,000 online reviews that mentioned the subject. That was a lot of data for them to crunch. But the fact that there was so much feedback on the subject was also a good thing. With such a big pool of reviews, it was not difficult for them to reliably work out which hotel chains offered the best service.
More hotels are catering for holiday guests who are also working
For about a decade now, hotels, B&Bs, apart hotels and other holiday accommodation providers have offered their guests access to wi-fi. But for much of that time, the connection was not great. Usually, you were sharing it with dozens of other guests. As a result, it was extremely hard to get anything but the most basic things done.
People need stable, secure, high-speed internet. Having access to other facilities, for example, a fax machine, a low-cost landline, printers, and copiers are all helpful. This type of set-up makes it far easier for people to reliably work and do so efficiently, while the rest of the family takes a day trip.
Most UK hotels now understand this. So, they are increasingly creating proper desk space in their rooms. Quite a few are going the extra mile and setting aside a dedicated co-working space for guests to use. Giving people the option to set up their laptops in a part of the hotel where the signal is reliably strong. Somewhere they can work without being distracted by their families.
There is little doubt that hybrid working is here to stay. So, we can expect to see more hotels doing this. At which point, even more, people are likely to treat themselves to extra holidays with their families.