LOS ANGELES — High above the streets of downtown Los Angeles, Holly Dyroff is hard at work in a hotel room. Until now, she’s had to share the kitchen table with her partner.
"I’m an angry typer and my boyfriend is a loud, walker pacer," she laughed.
Dyroff is a senior producer, who works on commercials, and about once or twice a week, she comes to the Ace Hotel.
"If I’m presenting and I know I’m going to have like 20 people on the call, and I don’t want my boyfriend with a leaf blower in the background, then I will come in for a morning," Dyroff said.
For $75 at the Ace Hotel Downtown L.A., guests can use a room for a half day or pay $125 for the full 8a-5p. It also includes some extra perks, including vouchers for free coffee and a couple of cocktails.
"This is the nicest office I think I will probably ever have. I have an amazing view. I have water on arrival. I can get a coffee on my way in from the lobby, and then you get like a couple of cocktails at the end of the day," Dyroff said.
The pandemic has forced the hospitality industry to get creative and find new ways to attract customers. The Ace Hotel said its occupancy is down more than 50% from last year.
"We thought about ways to have people experience the property or at least give them an option somewhere different from home," said Saye Kokeh, General Manager of the Ace Hotel Downtown L.A.
In some cases, the Kokeh said guests have enjoyed the experience so much, they turn it into a working staycation.
"It was a half day turned into a full day. Next thing you know, it’s a weekend, or a weekday, a couple of nights, but also, they’ve asked to upgrade into a larger room," he said.
But for Dyroff, it’s more about improving her mindset, a feeling of getting back to normal that’s worth every penny.
"Here, I’m fully at work and when I switch off, I can be fully at home," she said. It’s nice to come back to someone at the end of the day and be like, 'How was your day?' and I miss those conversations."
And being able to come home from work is something she no longer takes for granted.
Other hotels with similar workspace offerings include: