Coronavirus: 20% of holiday home bookings in Italy are by teleworkers

Gtres

24 August 2020, 11:38

The ongoing health and economic crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the required physical distancing measures means that many companies in Italy and across the world have introduced teleworking on a large scale. However, this increasing trend of working from home, or smart working as it is often known, doesn't mean you exclusively have to work from your home and can be combined with holidays this summer 2020, something which is confirmed by data from Italianway. The short-term rental company has released data stating that 20% of summer bookings received for seaside and mountain holiday homes come from those who have chosen to continue working from tourist destinations in Italy. These figures include bookings from both Italians and foreign "holiday workers".

The short-term rentals company pointed out that the selection criteria of certain holiday properties can give them the upper hand for holiday workers, with such travellers generally preferring large, spacious properties with private outdoor areas (such as fenced gardens and terraces for children to play safely while their parents work), at least three separate bedrooms (with no sofa beds), barbecue and swimming pool for private use.

In addition, working wi-fi is a must, as well as security, privacy, large and comfortable spaces, independence and quality of services. The company has therefore seen increasing requests for divided, comfortable and bright rooms, as well as explicit requests for workstations (tables in the living room, equipped terraces and garden tables). The average budget of these working holidaymakers is 120-150 euros per night, a rate that goes down as the stay gets longer.

Tourists, especially Italians, move mainly by car (Termoli, Bormio, Rapallo, Marche and Puglia are among the most booked destinations for Italians) and for this reason they prefer houses with parking (but the same goes for many foreigners coming from areas bordering Italy, such as the Swiss, French and Germans).

"Families and groups of friends have changed the way they travel, as well as the destinations and type of houses they are looking for to meet their business needs", explains Marco Celani from Italianway. "The same trend has been observed for younger groups that are mainly looking for houses with large outdoor spaces with a barbecue area and swimming pool. The uncertainty about transport is also discouraging long journeys, resulting in the rediscovery of areas that traditionally were not tourist destinations".

Article seen at: Tendenza 'holiday working' in affitti brevi case al mare o montagna (Adnkronos)