Workations: Make the most of working from anywhere
Travelling while working. Working while travelling. Sounds like the dream situation, right?
Although it isn’t a new concept, the “workation” has increased in popularity since the start of the pandemic, or at the very least, the idea of it has – see the Google search trend below. With so many of us continuing to work from home after lockdown has ended, it’s no surprise that the notion that we could be working anywhere with good WiFi has grown. But what exactly is the different between a workation and just working remotely?
What is a workation?
Work + vacation = workation. It’s the combination of business and leisure
When so much of our lives is tied up with work, the idea of being able to do our jobs in a buzzy new city or beautiful, tranquil beach resort sounds so much more appealing than regular 9-to-5 office life. But in practice, does the concept work?
If you’re thinking about taking a workation, it’s important to set boundaries to ensure you get the most out of it from all angles. Giving yourself a work schedule and planning activities around it will mean you can get the most out of the destination you’re visiting.
Tips on how to make the most of your workation
1. Make sure your accommodation is workation friendly
Is there free WiFi? How good is the WiFi? Is there a communal space you can work in? Is there a café or shop across the road where you can grab some lunch? Are the windows big enough so that you can see daylight or a nice view while you’re working so that you don’t feel stuck in a box?
These are some important questions you should ask yourself before booking your lodging for your workation. Our luxury apartments in Nairobi also have work-friendly areas where you can take your laptop and escape your room. Plus, being so close to the city centre means you won’t be far away from anything you need.
2. Find a room or apartment you can work in
Once you’ve settled on your destination, it’s time to find the perfect place to stay. As well as asking all the questions above, you might find it better to hit two birds with one stone and find an apartment you can work in with extra space, a table or desk, and a decent kitchen and/or coffee machine.
There is a growing trend and demand for aparthotels, which offer apartments with hotel service, including concierge and room cleaning. At Longonot Place, our luxury serviced apartments have room to live and work with a fully fitted kitchen and separate living area and bedroom. Every apartment also comes with free ultrafast WiFi.
Plus you will be able to enjoy other facilities in the compound, including a sea food restaurant, pool and 24hr gym, as part of your stay.
3. Plan around your work
To make the most of your workation, it would be wise to plan all your recreational stuff around your work so that you schedule is watertight. Start by creating a to-do list of your work with estimations of how long certain tasks should take. Then, you can think about what kind of fun activities you want to do, places to visit, restaurants to eat at, etc. Depending on opening times or when activities are available, you can schedule your work around pleasure, so that you have a nice balance of the two!
While doing this, it would be good to schedule in some “free time” where you have nothing planned, just in case one of your work tasks is particularly difficult or you come across a cool bar that you want to check out.
4. Put in the hours before your arrival
Saying that, even though it’s good to plan which work tasks you want to do and when, try and get as much done as possible before arriving. Your future self will appreciate any extra effort you can make before your trip, especially if it means a couple of extra hours in the city or being able to enjoy one more cocktail at that fancy bar.
5. Pack all your tools
The other bit of prep you should do before your trip is making sure you have everything that you need for your trip, like your laptop or tablet, notebook, pen, maybe a HDMI or ethernet cable, depending what you’ll be doing while away. If you’re going to be based in a city centre like Nairobi then anything forgotten won’t be too much of an issue. But if you’re heading somewhere more remote, then taking time to ensure you’ve got all your tools will help prevent any future headaches over forgotten items.
6. Establish a workspace
Armed with all the tools you need for your workation, upon arrival find a designated spot to be your workstation. Establishing the ritual of “going to work” by sitting in the same spot during your work hours will help you to focus and concentrate during your work hours. But while it’s good to create a workspace haven, take the time to close it all down when you’re finished to help your brain switch off from the working day.
7. Have fun!
Lastly, and most importantly, have fun! Your workation shouldn’t all be work and no vacation, so shake off the guilt and make the most of your new surroundings. Enjoy being in a different environment, especially if your accommodation feels like a home away from home.
What is a Serviced Apartment?
Serviced apartments have been around longer than most people think – making an impact, in fact, for over a decade.
Officially, ‘Serviced Apartment’ is the umbrella term for a type of furnished apartment available for short-term or long-term stays, which provides amenities, housekeeping and a range of services for guests and where most taxes and utilities are included within the rental price.
Serviced apartments offer facilities much like a traditional hotel but with added space, convenience and privacy like home, so you can enjoy living like a local when travelling. They have private cooking facilities, sometimes a kitchenette but sometimes a full-size kitchen with dishwasher and washing machine, larger living/sleeping areas than most standard rooms, and often having access to gyms, restaurants, meeting space, concierges and other hotel-like services.
‘Serviced Apartment’ as an expression has been relatively little used outside the corporate relocation and business travel markets. Most online booking sites have long offered them as booking options, but with no separate category – most are just labelled ‘apartment’ and offered as another option alongside regular hotel rooms.
But the sector is increasingly having an impact on leisure travel as people find serviced apartments are available all over the world as a credible and cost-effective alternative. They are especially economical for longer stays, group travel or family parties, allowing savings on dining out and offering in-house entertainment as well as allowing you to live like a local.
But unlike certain unregulated parts of the sharing economy, such as home-share sites where you might move into someone else’s home for your stay and take a chance in terms of health and safety and standard of accommodation, we as a trade body aim to ensure the consumer has confidence in what they will find when booking serviced apartment accommodation anywhere in the world.
We offer different levels of membership and quality accreditation marques to the industry to drive up and maintain standards around bookings, facilities and safety.
What you should expect from a serviced apartment:
- A fully equipped kitchen, usually with both dishwasher and washer/dryer
- One or more separate bedrooms, or in studio apartments, a designated sleeping area
- A living area
- A bathroom
- TV, Wi-Fi and the latest in-room technology
- All utilities included i.e. water & electricity
- A weekly housekeeping service (many operators offer a more frequent service if required)
You may find serviced apartments across a number of sub headings which include:
Serviced Apartment– Self-contained apartments normally within a residential building. There may or may not be staff on site, so the operator may arrange to meet guests on arrival or make keys available via a safety deposit box. Some may even offer keyless entry access via smartphones or other technology. And guests will have access to a 24-hour helpline.
Aparthotel– serviced apartments within a dedicated building, offering hotel-like services with a 24-hour reception. These may also offer additional facilities like a communal lounge or an on-site gym. Some operators call their apartments ‘suites’ within an aparthotel.
Corporate Housing– a furnished apartment, condominium or house made available for rent or lease on a temporary basis, usually for 30 days or more. The corporate travel world has long seen the advantage of this kind of accommodation for executives on longer business trips or during relocations, as they allow the traveler a more ‘normal’ way of life outside hotels, with the chance to cook, relax and plan their time away from hotel operating hours.
