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Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home, in a home office has become commonplace in many industries. More and more young creatives and other professionals are moving their offices to holiday accommodation for a few days or weeks. In this guide for landlords, you will learn how to make your holiday home suitable for home offices. This way you can reach an additional target group, generate new bookings and increase your income.

Who chooses home office on vacation?

The global covid-19 pandemic, as well as technological advances, have shown that mobile working from home or on the road is possible in many professions. Those who can work remotely usually only have a few requirements: a computer, stable and fast internet, a table and a place to sit. Nowadays, you can find employees as well as freelancers among the so-called ‘digital nomads’. More and more companies allow home offices and thus offer their employees more flexibility. This has created a new market for holiday home renters, which is now known as ‘workation’ (work + vacation). Therefore, as a holiday home landlord, you should also accommodate the needs of this new target group.

What is the goal of a “workation”?

People who decide to work from abroad or in a holiday region want to escape their everyday life and usually also the stress in the city. They are looking for a pleasant environment in which they can spend their working and leisure time for a few days or weeks.

A change from everyday life

People who choose a workation may be looking for sun, snow, nature or mountains. Depending on their personal preferences and needs, they look for different types of holiday accommodation: a flat by the sea, a cottage in the mountains, a house in the countryside or exceptional accommodation. Many workation guests live at home in a cramped flat in the city and want to take a little time out from their regular lives. They long for a quiet atmosphere, cosy accommodation and unspoilt nature to get some fresh air.

How do you make your vacation rental home office-ready?

You can also offer your holiday accommodation specifically for home office on holiday / workation and in doing so address an additional category of travellers. It takes little effort for you to set up a workplace in your holiday home. Below you will find the most important requirements of guests who are looking for a holiday home for home office:

Home office area

You should set up an office area in your holiday home. If you have a small room that was originally intended as a storage room or dressing room, you can easily fit a desk and a comfortable chair in there. Ideally, office chairs should be adjustable for comfort. A separate, lockable office allows your guests to retreat for virtual meetings or intensive work sessions.
If you don’t have an extra room in your holiday home, don’t worry. Simply set up an area in the living room as a workspace. If necessary, your potential guests can also use the kitchen as an office and work at the breakfast bar, for example. Depending on what tasks they are doing, guests will move between the sofa, terrace, bedroom, etc. while working in your holiday accommodation.
Computer equipment

Your guests will usually bring their own company PC or personal laptop, so you do not need to provide a computer. However, they will appreciate it if you provide them with one or even two computer screens. Working with a double screen has become the norm and helps a lot when working from home.
Cables & Chargers

Cables and chargers are a little something your guests will appreciate. Plan on having a set of chargers with multiple attachments to allow for charging of various devices such as smartphones, laptops, wireless keyboards, etc. Chargers are extremely important but often forgotten at home. You can save your guests a lot of stress with this little extra and they will thank you with positive reviews.
Stable internet connection

In the past, people wanted to spend a few days on holiday without the internet, but today internet access is essential – especially for digital nomads. If you haven’t yet installed Wi-Fi in your accommodation, now is the time to do so. Also, check the speed and stability of the connection regularly. Guests who opt for a home office in their holiday flat sometimes travel in pairs or as a group. The internet connection must therefore be sufficient for everyone to have a stable connection at the same time. Online meetings must be possible without interruptions or delays.
Office supplies

Despite increasing digitalization, it can be helpful for your guests if you also provide a few classic office supplies such as pens, highlighters, notepads or sticky notes.
Adjustable lighting

Good lighting provides optimal working conditions, is easy on the eyes and can even enhance the look of the room. So think about buying nice desk lamps that match your décor or invest in lamps with adjustable lighting. This way, each guest can adjust the brightness to their taste.
Guest folder with restaurant tips etc.

To help your guests find their way around your apartment from the beginning, you can prepare a guest folder. With Smoobu you can create a complete digital travel guide and summarize all important information in a digital guest folder. Add your house rules, recommend your favorite restaurants & bars, museums and tell your guests local insider tips.

Advertise vacation rental specifically for home office & workation

Update your advertisements

Have you transformed your vacation rental into an ideal place for a workation with a few small adjustments? Then don’t forget to update your advertisements on the booking platforms. This is the only way to make sure that your accommodation will be found and booked.

Add new features

If you are registered with Airbnb, Booking.com or FeWo-direkt, check and update your listings. Are there other amenity features you could add to your rentals: Workspace, office, etc.? This will help potential guests find you more easily when they use filters in their search.

Add photos of the home office corner

Add additional photos of your workspace to your ads. This way your future guests will know what to expect and you will be able to convince them more easily.

Revise your price-lists

You can target interested searchers with special offers, e.g. a discount for a longer stay. This way you will profit twice: On the one hand, your guest will be happy to have found a bargain. On the other hand, you ensure that your vacation rental is well utilized and consistently makes you money. With a channel manager like Smoobu, you can automatically synchronize your prices on all your booking portals and apply discounts as well.

Use social media

If you have a Facebook or Instagram page for your vacation rental, you can also post there that your vacation rental is now home office-friendly. Former guests or vacation-hungry people might take notice of your vacation rental and book it for their next workation. Your vacation home is not yet on social media? Learn more about the advantages of social networks for your vacation rental.

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