The future of work in a word: flexibility

We are at a pivotal time in history, as corporate and leisure, B2B and B2C, transient and extended-stay sectors continue to combine, blur and evolve.

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The last few years have been the most challenging period in hospitality history, never before have we seen such huge disruption and change occurring in such a short amount of time.

Flexible working

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated, above all else, the need for flexibility; changing the working and purchasing environment at a pace not seen before. If we take the work environment first; the need to comfortably and easily work from home is now a must and with changing policies and the ability to work remotely,  that home could be several different locations throughout the year.

Flexible working has become the norm in a short time, and shows no sign of slowing; Airbnb’s announcement allowing all employees to work from anywhere within their country of employment plus up to 90 days from anywhere around the world saw 800,000 hits on their job board the same day.

The flexible business necessity is rapidly becoming a top talent winning strategy that will no doubt continue and be repeated across businesses, particularly amongst tech heavy organisations. As a consequence, this has created a huge opportunity for the relocation industry and the accommodation that best suits this need.

How edyn supports this new style of working

At edyn we were well ahead of this change, and built a business that offers  the perfect solution to meet this demand. If you’re not familiar with edyn, we have been described as an operator, provider, agency, hybrid and everything in-between, all of which are elements of what we are, but in essence we like to think of ourselves as a soulful and inspiring solution to the hospitality world with our hybrid hospitality business model.

Through our brands Locke, Cove and SACO, plus our global partner network of over 80,000 apartments, we offer an environment that aligns with this new style of living. Whether a home from home for all modes of living with our serviced apartments, or the immersive combination of home and a community-led experience provided by Locke, we have all the options to meet this demand in one place.

A key feature of all these options is the ability to comfortably work from somewhere that feels more like home and in Locke’s case adds the social co-working and cultural activation elements for communal experience.Read more:

To explore more widely the new ways of working, why not join us on 9 June for the results of the Think Global People and Relocate Awards and the Future of Work Festival?


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The ability to move between cities, countries, brands and experiences is becoming as easy to find and book as it is exciting to contemplate. Imagine, enjoying the practicality and serenity of a nice quiet apartment to work, study and relax  close to the countryside of Cambridge at Turing Locke for one month, and then taking advantage of the energy, nightlife and cultural immersion in Berlin living at our new Locke at East Side Gallery, which will open later this year.

In the same way as the pandemic accelerated work flexibility, it also led to more online purchasing flexibility, of which technology has been a key part to this development. 

For our part we have created a portal to enable our own brands and our partner network to be easily accessible for the many businesses and agencies we support. A fully self-serviced platform which is customisable to provide live and bookable options, apply travel policies/filters and enable both travel bookers and/or individual employees access to all their “work hopping” or commuting needs. The edyn portal also supports travel and mobility managers in creating, mandating and streamlining their accommodation programmes, whilst maintaining a best-in-class customer service and expert account management support.

It is certain that the future of work is embracing flexibility, and now, the hospitality industry must do the same. At edyn, we believe we have the solution for the type of environment that is now being demanded globally, as well as the ease to find and acquire it, all  within one platform designed for how an organisation, agency, booker or traveller needs them. Despite a difficult few years, the future is looking very positive and we look forward to seeing how it further develops.

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