The hotel re-opened in September with a purpose-built meeting space, ‘Homespace’, designed to meet the growing demand for alternative workspace that provides a welcome respite from home working. Working with specialist hotel designers, Trevillion, Homespace provides a flexible and practical workspace, using an innovative concept of a less formal, familiar ‘kitchen table’ environment. TopBrewer already provides a premium coffee experience for the Exclusive Collection at the South Lodge and Pennyhill Park hotels, selected for its stylish design and technology features, range of baristaquality hot drinks and innovative user experience using the TopBrewer app. Two TopBrewer Pro machines are now installed in the Homespace environment at the Royal Berkshire to provide a full selection of speciality coffees, hot chocolate and steaming hot water for tea drinkers. With its clean lines and minimal design, the TopBrewer provides a smart, stylish solution for the perfect self-service guest experience. The under-counter brewing unit creates a streamlined and clutter-free counter in the Homespace service area. With intuitive app-control technology, the TopBrewer enables guests to personalise drinks to their own taste and order from their own device. Apple users can also take advantage of ordering their favourite drink through Siri using TopBrewerVoice. Debbie Guy, General Manager at the Royal Berkshire, comments: “The TopBrewers are perfect for our new, flexible corporate workspace that caters for individual clients or collaborative meetings. We now have a welcoming remote-working environment, with premium, barista-quality drinks on tap, creating a memorable and reassuring guest experience.”
Simon Bracken, Co-founder and Managing Director at Scanomat UK & Ireland comments: “Homespace at the Royal Berkshire is a wonderful example of innovation and forward-thinking. As a premium and exclusive hotel experience as a destination, it has adapted to the current need of displaced homeworkers seeking a reassuring alternative workplace environment. We are delighted that TopBrewer is an integral part of this first-class workplace destination.” Hybrid hospitality: How to attract remote workers The world of work is evolving due to the Global Covid-19 pandemic, and remote workers are looking for satellite locations outside of the traditional office and their own homes as a sort of “hybrid workspace” that provides comfort, flexibility and convenience. Real estate firm, Colliers International, predicts that hotels providing flexible office space could increase turnover by up to 20 per cent. Hotels need to be equipped to deliver a practical and appealing workspace that goes beyond the hotel lobby to capitalise on this emerging trend. What should hybrid hospitality look like? Zones – If space allows, creating different zones is a great way to facilitate different ways of working. From formal desks, to lounge areas, to meeting pods – zoning is a great way to cater for different business needs and promote productivity.
space has great internet, whether it’s for an entire company paying for a dedicated office space, or a freelancer with a part-time hot-desking membership. 24/7 Access – As the “traditional” workplace changes, so does the “traditional” worker. It’s not uncommon to be working alongside people from all over the globe, in different countries and time zones, so the standard 9am5pm working day is becoming a thing of the past. By opening your doors outside of normal working hours, or even operating 24 hours a day, you open new possibilities with the increasing number of people working remotely. Where offices traditionally operate Monday to Friday, hotels have an opportunity to offer more flexibility as hotel space can be utilised 7 days a week. Community – One of the best things about flexible workspaces is the chance to work alongside likeminded people. Whether it’s for networking, meeting new business partners, or simply for finding new friends with similar interests, creating a strong sense of community in your space is important. www.topbrewer.co.uk sales@scanomat.co.uk 0800 032 7581
Coffee – Introducing a premium coffee experience will keep guests coming back for more and allow you to stand out from the crowd. Coffee, as well as other refreshments, are just as important in a flexible workspace as they are in a more traditional office. Good quality coffee on tap is expected as standard and should not be overlooked. WiFi – It goes without saying that super-fast WiFi is essential in a flexible workspace. Ensure every part of your
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EAT. DRINK. SLEEP
Set in 15 acres of stunning gardens in the heart of the Berkshire countryside, the Royal Berkshire Hotel is an elegant country house hotel, part of the Exclusive Collection.
December 2020
Exclusive Collection selects TopBrewers for innovative, informal workspace at The Royal Berkshire Hotel