Delivering Tech-Enabled, Secure Live|Work Environments that Cater Specifically to the Needs of Business
New York, NY – As the country begins to re-open, questions and concerns abound for businesses that rely on corporate travel. Managing the needs of business travelers in a post COVID environment presents companies with a new array of challenges, and the notion of secure travel is now suddenly in focus. DWELLoptimal, which officially launches in the summer of 2020, is attempting to solve the problem of secure real-estate for business travel. DWELL accomplishes this by providing dedicated live|work apartments – optimized for remote work, and exclusively provided to companies only.
The backdrop for business travel was in the midst of an evolutionary shift prior to COVID 19. Within the industry, the traditional hotel space was feeling the disruptive effects of a growing STR market (short term rentals), which was ushered in nearly 12 years ago by Air BnB. According to a recent CBRE report, STR’s now represent nearly 10% of total U.S. Hotel supply and amassed over $119 Billion in revenues in 2019. What was once considered an ancillary product is now becoming a preferred typology – according to Craig James, founder of DWELLoptimal. “Hospitality maps were already changing dramatically before COVID-19, but the onset of this health crisis changes the priorities of business travelers in a permanent way. The crowded lobby bar is suddenly less appealing.”
As a start-up that was designed specifically for business, DWELLoptimal delivers secure live|work apartments that optimize employee productivity and well-being. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, James points out that DWELLoptimal was thoughtfully designed to promote health and well-being – with intentions such as a ‘no touch’ check-in process, keyless entry, low-to-no touch integrated groceries, customizable in-unit exercise, and industrial cleaning and sanitization options. These features come standard for Dwell units along with dozens of other customizations that uniquely position Dwell to respond to these new realities.
PARTNERING WITH BUSINESS
Differentiating itself in an increasingly crowded landscape of branded accommodations, DWELLoptimal partners with companies to deliver entire portfolios of live|work apartments, in locations companies actually elect themselves. In describing the business model, founder Craig James describes it simply – “We start with asking companies the outrageous question: What do you want? and where do you want it? And then we deliver that.”
DWELLoptimal then provides their corporate clients with an integrated software platform for managing utilization, controlling unit environments remotely, and allowing employees to “drive experience” of their live|work spaces. “We’re one of the first to deliver truly customizable experiences – down to the Kiehl’s soap in the bathroom” says James.
AN EVOLUTION DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY
While the corporate apartment concept has been around for decades, innovations in IoT and platform technology have brought it into a new era. “It is a critical juncture”, says Luke Bujarski, founder and managing director of Luft Research & Advisory. “Technology will separate the winners and losers as this industry consolidates,” he predicts. “Technology is the enabler of smart property management and customer acquisition and retention.”
Creation of optimized living solutions, James notes, can’t happen without effective technology.
“At our core, we want to power the productivity of the employee,” James says. “And that starts with utilizing technology to eliminate travel friction in all the obvious ways. With instant Wi-Fi connections, Zoom conferencing and Slack integrations, we’re utilizing our platform to actually give time back to the mobile employee.”
Ease-of-use is also an important part of the equation, which is guided by an elegant application interface. “In business travel, mobile professionals prioritize the overall tenant experience, which includes fitness, nutrition and wellness,” James says.
That kind of customized experience is designed to keep increasingly mobile employees functioning at a high level – and keep them onboard. “We see secure real estate as an offensive strategy designed to attract and retain employees,” James says. “Why wouldn’t you give your employees access to the most productive and secure environments you can?”
About DwellOptimal
DWELLoptimal is a real estate technology company that provides a new standard in productivity-focused design for extended stay business travelers. Unlike most companies currently in the serviced apartment space, DWELL is focused exclusively on business travel on behalf of its corporate clients. DWELLoptimal provides their corporate clients with an integrated software platform for managing utilization, controlling unit environments remotely, and allowing employees to customize elements of their live|work spaces.
