For Your Business Trip — Published February 10, 2020 | 3 minute read
Business travel is as old as travel itself.
Instead of arduous, months-long journeys to trade for fine linens and spices, however, business travelers today fly to destinations, spend a few days meeting with clients, eat room service at whatever basic lodging is deemed most convenient, and jet back home as quickly as they arrived.
Put simply: Traditional work trips can be a recipe for burnout.
While experts have noted such severe exhaustion is on the rise, numerous businesses are cropping up to fight the epidemic. Mindfulness apps and wellness retreats help travelers build a better work/life balance. That pursuit is also a driving force behind the rise of bleisure trips—those mixing business and leisure.
It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that Hilton, one of the world’s largest hotel chains, recently announced the launch of Tempo, a new brand of hotels geared toward business travelers who care about work-life balance.
All the recognizable traits of modern hotel amenities are present: oversized bathrooms, bright lighting, open-concept closets, more outlets and charging stations than any one person would need, Bluetooth-capable mirrors that enable you to listen to music while getting ready, a chic lobby cafe, and sustainable, seasonal food offerings.
So what makes this different from any other modern hotel brand?
Who is Tempo for?
According to Phil Cordell, senior vice president and global head of new brand development at Hilton, Tempo’s ideal guest is driven, likely traveling for business, and “a little bit more aware of trying to balance work and life; a little bit more aware of trying to be healthy in what [they] eat and trying to remember to exercise and [maintain] discipline to some degree.”
Tempo appeals to road warriors, in particular. The brand will offer consistency from city to city while providing the kind of amenities that break up the monotony of travel.
Business travel may be necessary for Tempo guests, but it doesn’t need to be their life. They can maintain healthy, active lifestyles on the road.
What makes Tempo different from other business travel hotel brands?
Tempo, it seems, has a singular focus on mindfulness and wellness.
Offerings include:
- Curated meditation sessions, stretching and breathing exercises, and writing exercises provided by Thrive Global, a technology platform that helps individuals suffering from burnout
- Seasonal and sustainable food menus developed by a collective of up-and-coming chefs available both at the lobby bar and in guest rooms
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic craft cocktails
- State-of-the-art fitness centers, which will include traditional gym equipment and more on-trend programs
- Common spaces designed for socializing, including “art and design collections specifically chosen to encourage guests to look up from their daily grind”
Tempo speaks directly to the high-achieving millennial travel market: those who embrace the #SoberLife (at least part-time, anyways), prefer sustainable, healthy food options, and practice mindfulness to balance what are usually extremely busy work schedules.
Tempo is taking the concept of bleisure and turning it into a brand so even the busiest work trips don’t feel like just work.
When will Tempo hotels be up and running?
The first Tempo will open sometime in 2021.
Hilton announced that there are at least 30 confirmed locations—including New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington, D.C. and Houston—with another 30 locations soon to be confirmed. While several builds have already begun, it remains to be seen which location will be finished first.
The final question, then, is will other brands follow Hilton’s lead? With Airbnb and other shared spaces offering different lodging options to business travelers, there’s room for hotels to innovate. This could be just the start.
