Your Office is a Destination: How Hospitality Principles are Redefining the Workplace
By Robert Kroon
In the era of hybrid work, the office has a new purpose: it must be a magnet, not a mandate. It's no longer just a place to get work done, but a destination that offers an experience worth the commute. This shift is driving a powerful trend in commercial design—the "hotelification" of the workplace—which is drawing lessons directly from the hospitality industry to make offices more welcoming, comfortable, and engaging.
The question is, in the age of hybrid work, is your office a magnet that draws people in, or is it a liability they have to tolerate?
Battery-powered workplaces upgrade user experience. Tangles of cords are a liability.
Beyond the Desk: From "Space" to "Experience"
Hospitality design is not just about aesthetics; it's about curating a seamless, positive guest journey. When applied to the office, this means moving beyond the traditional notion of a workplace as a collection of desks and conference rooms. The focus shifts to the employee's entire experience, from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.
Elevated Arrival: The reception area is no longer just a functional desk. It's a welcoming lobby with comfortable seating, a curated atmosphere, and premium amenities that set a positive tone for the day.
Intuitive Functionality: Just as a hotel provides effortless service, a hospitality-inspired office uses technology to streamline the workday. This includes smart, easy-to-use room booking systems, integrated charging solutions, and a seamless flow of spaces that anticipates a user's needs.
The Office as a Community Hub
Hospitality is at its best when it creates a sense of community. The modern office is increasingly becoming less of a place for solitary work and more of a social hub for connection, collaboration, and spontaneous interaction.
This is where the principles of the Agile Workplace truly shine. The hospitality trend demands a variety of diverse zones that support a range of activities. These aren't just work zones; they are social and leisure zones that mimic the experience of a high-end hotel lobby or cafe.
Diverse Zones: Think of cozy lounge areas for casual chats, high-top tables for quick meetings, and private nooks for focused work—all within a single, dynamic space.
Integrated Amenities: Modern offices are now incorporating features like barista-style coffee bars, high-end kitchens, and wellness rooms that make the office a desirable destination. This makes the office a place employees want to be, not just a place they have to be.
Powering the Experience with Agility
This vision of a dynamic, hospitality-driven workplace sounds great in theory, but it faces a major roadblock: the physical limitations of most commercial buildings. Traditional electrical infrastructure is fixed, rigid, and makes it difficult to create the flexible zones required by this new design philosophy.
This is where intelligent power solutions become essential. Battery-powered Agile Furniture, such as our Respond! system, allows you to completely decouple furniture from the wall, empowering designers to create flexible layouts and pop-up community zones anywhere in the space. The freedom to place a collaboration hub in a sun-drenched corner or a quiet lounge next to a living wall is crucial for creating that seamless, hospitality-driven experience.
By combining the functional flexibility of an agile office with a human-centric focus on comfort and experience, companies can create an environment that encourages a return to the office, boosts employee satisfaction, and builds a thriving culture.
In our next post, we'll dive into the biggest practical challenge for these modern designs: overcoming the limitations of retrofitting older buildings.
August Berres Respond! Mobile Desks are a perfect fit for a workplace emphasizing user experience.
About the author:
Bob Kroon stands out as a visionary leader and innovator, bringing over 40 years of expertise in the electro-mechanical and furniture sectors. As the CEO and founder of August Berres, he is committed to revolutionizing traditional office workplace power systems, establishing the Agile Workplace through an intelligent power ecosystem.
With a fervent passion for advancing technologies, Bob champions groundbreaking solutions like building microgrids, fault-managed power (FMP), and battery-powered Agile Furniture—all of which are redefining the design and functionality of commercial spaces. Under his guidance, a remarkable array of innovative solutions has been introduced to the market, including August Berres’ Respond!, Juce, CampFire, and Wallies. These transformative products empower building owners, architects, and facility managers to effortlessly retrofit their spaces, adapting them to meet the demands of today’s ever-evolving work environment.
