Digital nomad
The digital nomad is a worker who can accomplish his missions in other places than within a company. This category of workers includes self-employed, freelancers and auto-entrepreneurs, as well as many employees who are required and able to move around and not stay at one fixed workplace.
The number of digital nomads is increasing. In Canada, there were 2.9 million self-employed people in 2018, up from 1.2 million in 1976. The self-employed accounted for 15% of total employment, up from 12% four decades earlier. The trend is even stronger in our neighbors: in the U.S., 10.9 million workers defined themselves as digital nomads in 2020, an increase of 49% from 2019 according to a study by MBO Partners.1
The digital nomad is therefore a worker whose professional lifestyle is characterized by both flexibility and agility. The web and digital professions in general are best suited to this way of working. digital nomads can work from home, in a café or rent an equipped office for a day or two.
An increasingly important clientele for hoteliers
Hotels can provide digital nomads with suitable and comfortable workspaces to enable them to work efficiently. These spaces can include connected workstations with high-speed Internet access, printing services, and meeting rooms equipped for conference calls and presentations. Hotels can also provide call boxes for private telephone calls. For the convenience of digital nomads, hotels can offer unlimited hot drinks and snacks, as well as on-site or nearby dining options.
The integration of technology in hotels is therefore of crucial importance to meet the needs of mobile workers. Hoteliers can use tools such as CRM to personalize their offerings and build customer loyalty. In addition, they can use turnkey platforms to centralize hotel technology, such as Wi-Fi, interactive TV and IP telephony. By using these tools, hoteliers can provide an enhanced and personalized customer experience, which helps build customer loyalty. They can also collect data on their customers’ preferences and needs to improve their offering and service.
Most digital nomads prefer to stay in hotels (51%). By welcoming digital nomads, hotels increase their occupancy rate and attract a highly qualified clientele. To stand out from the crowd, hotels need to integrate innovative technologies that meet the needs of digital nomads.
