In the Unlock 3.0 phase, people are scheduling trips to the hills and the seaside for workcations after months of staying at home. Trip organizers and homestay owners say certain bookings are for months stretch, and travel enthusiasts are ready to pay extra for booking a whole house. With companies widening the work-from-home (WFH) routine, customers have begun to look at options for a workcation.
The popularity of workcation has risen during the pandemic, according to Google Trends. These destinations are mostly just a few hours drive distance from cities nestled in seaside or hilly areas.
Sula Vineyards in Nashik, barely three hours away from Mumbai, added 20 more rooms to its 32-room heritage vineyard resort. It provides five and ten-day workcation packages, including breakfast, wifi, and electricity back-up, with a starting price of 5,250 per night. Since 13 July Zostel, the budget hospitality chain has been delivering value-driven long-stay workcations that can span over 15, 21, and 30 days at its various operational properties. The 15-day dormitory package starts at an amount of Rs 4,000 and the 30-day dorm package starts at Rs 7,000, while the 15-day single-room package begins at Rs 10,000 and the 30-day single package begins at an Rs 18,000.
Deep Banka, Zostel ‘s sales head. said, Millennials living in metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are looking for a 10-30day getaway with an average cost equivalent to their monthly living costs. Since they are able to match that cost, demand for long stays has been steadily increasing.
Karnataka (Gokarna), Rajasthan (Udaipur), and Uttarakhand (Mukteshwar) have emerged as Zostel ‘s top workcation destinations. Hospitality chains like Fab Hotels and Mahindra Holidays offer work packages, too. On 14 August, Mahindra Holidays launched workcation packages through their nine Mahindra Club resorts in Coorg, Kanatal, Udaipur, Kanha, Mussoorie, Corbett, Naukuchiatal, Gir and Puducherry. Currently, 80 percent of India’s resorts are within drivable distance from major towns.
Most organizations believe that the idea of ‘work from home’ is an IDEAL option, Even after the COVID situation starts improving. Madan Sabnavis, Care Ratings, chief economist, claims that it is a comparatively short-term move by hospitality firms that can keep part of their operating costs. However, I don’t see it as long-term sustained market practice,” he added.
