Operations manager Priscilla Sun, 30, has just moved for the eighth time since the start of the pandemic. Between temporary housing since leaving her home in Belo Horizonte, she passed through six states and changed her job at a technology company from Minas Gerais for remote work for a company in Silicon Valley, in the United States.
“I always liked being close to nature, and since I returned from a study trip in Holland I prioritized destinations related to ecotourism. When I returned to Brazil, I felt like exploring this type of place”, says she, who lived in Alter do Chão (PA) and Pipa (RN).
“When I decided to become a nomad, I left my rented house and started looking for options, like Airbnb. Over time, my boyfriend and I started to develop a network of contacts, which ends up indicating places to stay. I don’t even think about having a residence again. fixed for now.”
Whether through nomadic professionals —who manage to keep their jobs moving from city to city—, or through workers who went to smaller cities during the quarantine and now have to return to the big centers for a few days, with a partial return to the office. , hotels, temporary rental companies and flats have been trying to recover losses from the pandemic and insert themselves into the new work routines.
In the Accor chain, which owns Ibis hotels, for example, part of the rooms was transformed into an office for professionals who work remotely, and the group started to offer Wojo Spot in Brazil in January, a system in which the consumer can use the Internet for free in the common areas of the hotels (lobby, bars and restaurants), even if you are not staying.
“Globally, the corporate market is coming slowly, but we are optimistic to return in 2022 almost to the level of 2019”, says Olivier Hick, executive vice president of mid-range and economy brands at Accor Brazil.
“Our coworking brand now has more than 150 service points in Brazil. In the last three months, there were almost 50 thousand connections inside the hotels.”
According to the executive, the objective is to provide an environment close to home, so that the customer can use the internet in the hotels’ restaurants to work. “The statistics we have today are people who go to work up to four days a week from inside hotels, alone or to have meetings.”
The chain says that the service, even though it is free, has the advantage of moving the restaurants and common areas of the units at times of low circulation.
Amanda Amorim, general manager of Ibis Budget São Paulo Jardins, says that there has been a change in the profile of users of the service. “During the pandemic, when everything was closed, we noticed an increase in search, especially for people who needed a quiet environment to work. Today, with the return of offices, the biggest search is for medium and small entrepreneurs.”
One of them is Renato Lins, 39. Graduated in law, he found himself without clients during the pandemic and decided to open a virtual business selling hospital items, which ended up working. He now says he frequents the workspace at a hotel in downtown São Paulo once a week.
“We use the platforms of large retailers to win customers, but I have to meet with suppliers, and I don’t have the space at home.”
The report tested two of these spaces, on a Wednesday, in São Paulo. The movement was weak, which made it possible to work and have virtual meetings without as much noise or interruptions. The wi-fi signal was enough to send emails, use messaging tools and watch videos, but it started to fail during meetings and it was necessary to turn off the camera to continue using the apps.
One of the segments most affected by the distancing measures imposed by the pandemic, the hotel sector is trying to get back on its feet. After the sharp drop caused by the pandemic, which began in March 2020, the occupancy rate of hotels in São Paulo has grown over the past year, only registering a few spikes, which coincided with the increase in cases due to the new variants of the coronavirus, according to survey by Fohb (Forum of Hotel Operators in Brazil).
As of August, occupancy in São Paulo rose again, but remained, in January of this year, 12% below the same month of 2019 and recorded two new drops, in January (-23%) and February (-32%). .
Regarding the daily rate, those in the capital of São Paulo were still 22% below the pre-pandemic level of 2019. Of the cities monitored by the survey, only in Rio de Janeiro and Goiânia were the daily rates able to keep up with the variation in inflation by the IPCA ( Broad Consumer Price Index).
In March, hotel reservations were already at a higher level than in 2019, both in São Paulo and Brazil, according to booking website Omnibees.
According to William Astolfi, founder of the platform property management company B.Homy, occupancy has been increasing month by month and the movement is noticed in regions close to offices and corporate slabs, such as Brooklin and Vila Olímpia, in the south of Sao Paulo.
He highlights an increase in the profile of consumers who lived in the city, moved to the countryside or to the coast during the quarantine and now find themselves forced to work from the office for a few days a week. The option of temporarily leasing an entire apartment ended up pleasing this hybrid professional, he says.
According to a survey by Robert Half from last November, the hybrid model should be used by 48% of the nearly 400 companies interviewed, while 38% should return to the fully face-to-face system, 3% should only work from home and the rest not yet. had a definite plan.
An internal survey carried out in 11 countries by Airbnb, which did not disclose data on increased demand for accommodation, also found that the number of people booking extended stays on the platform to lead a nomadic lifestyle grew from 9% to 12% between 2020 and 2021.
In addition, a survey conducted by Ipsos in October 2021, at the request of Airbnb, revealed that 82% of Brazilians wish to maintain some form of remote work post-pandemic and 60% intend to be more flexible regarding post-pandemic travel dates. .
“The occupations in the regions that have a guest profile more linked to work than to leisure were well below other neighborhoods in the city, but now they are close, especially on weekdays – last year, the occupation was in the range of 60% and now it’s about 85%”, adds Astolfi. “Hybrid work is here to stay. If companies don’t have this option, the professional will look for another job.”
A recent report by The New York Times showed that a similar movement is taking place in the United States and Europe, in which large hotel chains have been promoting discounts and special rates for the hybrid worker.
Since the second half of last year, flexible rental startup Nomah has also noticed a return to demand for weekday accommodation. In 2022, the trend is for prices to rise, dammed up during the pandemic.
“The profile of guests on weekdays is divided between individual entrepreneurs who go to São Paulo frequently and, more significantly, among those who come through companies. Companies have also made more pre-established rate agreements”, he says. Thomaz Guz, founder of the company, which manages more than a thousand units.
He adds that the level of demand, however, is still not at the pre-pandemic level, given that the home office and virtual meetings have become more common in the last two years. The expectation is for a recovery only in 2023. “But people who now live near São Paulo and need to go to the office on specific days end up helping to move the market during the week.”
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