Workations and bleisure are more than just silly portmanteaus—blending work and vacation or business and leisure is a booming trend. The concepts gained traction during the pandemic when companies were forced to embrace remote work and has continued to pick up momentum. The BBC reported that in 2022, a quarter of Canadian workers wanted to take a workation. Go City’s global study from 2023 involving 5,500 respondents from eight countries revealed that nearly 30% of Americans were actively planning a workation.
Clearly, workationers are an expanding segment of short- to medium-term renters. If your short-term rental features an office or workspace, why not tap into the growing phenomenon? Here are some marketing tips to attract bookings from remote workers.
Feature work amenities in profile pictures.
Let’s start with the obvious: you should highlight your unit’s work-related amenities in your profile photos on home-sharing platforms. If the accommodation has an adjustable, ergonomic chair, it should feature prominently in one of the pictures. Office workers put in long hours sitting, so a comfortable chair is a major asset worth underscoring. Also provide clear photos of separate workspaces and offices, extra screens, desks with a shelf for a keyboard and an Ethernet connection, shelves and cabinets, printers, and so on. This lets prospective guests see what you have to offer and visualize their day-to-day work lives.
Be sure to highlight work-related amenities in filters and the property description.
Include any of the above-mentioned work amenities, along with any others not featured in the photos, in your property description. If you have high-speed internet, be sure to say so. This reassures guests who need a fast, reliable connection for their work tasks. As you are updating your profile, you should also check off any remote work-friendly features in the search filters.
Offer discounts for longer stays.
Offering discounts for longer stays is a strategic move for hosts looking to attract workationers. Remote workers, unlike traditional tourists, often make extended visits to an area since their stay lengths aren’t set by a limited vacation days.
Many hosts find that longer stays are advantageous. Longer rentals increase occupancy rates and reduce turnover, leading to fewer cleanings and simplified logistics.
List with home-sharing websites aimed at remote workers.
Airbnb
Airbnb is an excellent place to reach remote workers. It’s one of the only home-sharing sites that allows potential guests to include dedicated workspaces in the filters.
SiniSTAR
SiniSTAR is a top platform for short-term rental properties with optimized workspaces. It offers a compelling opportunity to cater to an often-overlooked renter demographic. The home-sharing site doesn’t serve digital nomads or workationers. SiniSTAR’s guest base consists of people from your region whom insurers need to relocate after a home disaster. This clientele isn’t on vacation or focused on leisure. They just want to get back to their normal lives after a misfortune. With the current prominence of remote work, this means a significant portion of these displaced policyholders require office space. Because the site caters to locals, you can attract remote workers outside the high tourist season and regardless of whether your area is in a vacation destination.
Promoting your short-term rental to remote workers is a smart move that helps you stand out in a competitive STR market. Remote workers have specific needs—they want a comfortable, well-equipped place to work. Catering to them, you can increase your occupancy rates by making your property more appealing to a burgeoning clientele.