Let’s downsize together: Travel Industry Hub

Richard Taylor is co-founder of The Travel Industry Hub.

Got an opinion to share? Let us know in up to 400 words via email to feedback@ traveldaily.com.au.

IF YOU’RE a business owner or manager, you’ve no doubt already given some thought to one of the major costs associated with running a business – your office.

There are countless articles out there about the future of work. Everywhere you look, it seems we’ll all be working from home.

There are many great advantages, including the freedom and flexibility, no commuting and that wonderfully satisfying feeling of watching laundry dry whilst on business calls, but it’s not for everyone. The vast majority of us need to congregate, interact and collaborate. Particularly in this industry, seeing we’re in the business of selling the polar opposite of sitting around at home in your underwear.

And then of course, there’s the end of JobKeeper, set for Sep.

With travel companies having to rethink their staffing requirements, things aren’t looking so good for offices. There will be many empty desks, and they’ll serve as a constant reminder of what this ghastly virus has done to our industry.

Companies that can escape their lease will do so, downsizing or even ditching offices altogether. Those with longer agreements face a problem.

For those needing an alternative, there are flexible workspaces or co-working spaces to consider. They offer a significant advantage for those who want to eschew long-term commitments, utility bills and the other headaches of leasing an office. They offer anything from a professional city address through to work and meeting space on demand, private offices and more.

These spaces will explode even further as landlords look to make use of empty real estate. Look out for that, perhaps even in suburban locations to capitalise on people’s reluctance to travel far from home during COVID.

The evolution of these spaces is why we launched The Travel Industry Hub. Our concept is similar, but affordable to our industry & around like-minded people, making connections every day. We will re-open (or more accurately, re-launch) in Aug and will look to expand elsewhere.

And what of those stuck in a lease without means to escape?

Increasingly we’ll see companies of all industries advertising space within their office, and they’ll use words such as “funky” or “vibrant” in the descriptions.. Some will succeed, but most will fail because they will be marketing alongside everyone else, doing exactly the same thing.

What’s more, they’ll compete with existing spaces that have significant advantages, such as all the marketing, SEO, memberships, IT security & legal agreements already covered.

The solution? We propose pulling together and creating a network of travel industry desks, meeting rooms and office space that can be marketed together to minimise costs, opened to people in your area needing to escape home or as part of a newly dispersed workforce. Almost overnight we could create a significant national brand that offers local people an escape from their homes, offering new revenue streams for our industry.

People need to escape. If that cannot be overseas for the time being, we need to think differently in the interim.

Get in touch HERE.

The vast majority of us need to congregate, interact and collaborate