Background information

B&B Hotels, a hotel group specialized in design accommodations, was the first company in the sector in Spain to convert part of its rooms into offices. This initiative is called "Work for everyone" and is part of the measures that the company has implemented to address the impact of the COVID-19.

Content of measure

After the initial impact of the pandemic, the company detected the growing need to find a quiet and comfortable workplace with a Wi-Fi network to allow videoconferences at an affordable price. The company has transformed part of its rooms into offices to offer them to self-employed professionals, but also for companies as an alternative to working at home in the new context of teleworking extension. These new offices are available between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and have a desk, ergonomic chair, printer service, access to high-speed Wi-Fi, drink services and private bathroom. In addition, B&B Hotels has an agreement with Applus+ (engineering company that provides testing and homologation services) to certify its cleaning and security protocol against the risks derived from COVID-19.

In regard to the pricing strategy, the company offers rooms as offices for 10 hours a day for less than €20. The general price for a room in their hotels is usually €50 to €60.

Use of measure

The 36 hotels of the company in Spain has transformed an important part of its rooms into offices (number not specified).

Contents

• Health and safety
• Other topics
• Telework

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

Company practice without social partners' involvement.

Views and reactions

The president of CEHAT, the largest EO in the hotel sector in Spain, highlights the importance of work-life balance, pointing out that not everyone has the conditions to work remotely from home, so initiatives like this are important. In addition, the highlights that most hotels have the capacity and infrastructure to implement this change of business model.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 19 August 2020: B&B Hotels convierte parte de habitaciones en oficinas para todo tipo de usuarios, autónomos y empresas (www.europapress.es)
• 27 August 2020: B&B Hotels convierte en oficinas parte de sus habitaciones (tecnohotelnews.com)
• 28 September 2020: Los hoteles se reinventan tras la irrupción de la pandemia y apuestan por su conversión en espacios de coworking (www.muypymes.com)
• 06 October 2020: El sector hotelero reconvierte sus espacios para sobrevivir a la crisis del COVID-19 y pone el foco en el teletrabajo (www.businessinsider.es)