Hostel or Not? Shared Rooms Pop Up in Traditional Hotels
Photo Credit: Element Hotels, a Marriott International brand, has created Studio Commons, four private guest rooms with a shared kitchen and living room. This is the Element Scottsdale and Skysong. Marriott International
Skift Take
Lobbies are no longer the only spaces hotel guests can share. Now some hotels are offering travelers the choice of sharing guest rooms. But will the shared spaces be enough to lure millennial travelers away from the likes of Airbnb?
Hotels have for many years been turning their lobbies into interactive spaces with communal spots for working or socializing. Now they are applying that concept to their guest rooms.
Super 8 by Wyndham, an economy hotel brand, is rolling out ROOM8, a shared room to “accommodate a new generation of road trippers who thrive in communal spaces,” the company said in its announcement.
The suites will have individual sleeping spaces and beds for up to four guests and shared areas for dining and entertaining. Amenities will include an apartment-size refrigerator and microwave, vintage arcade games, a streaming-ready 65-inch wall-mounted TV, and a foosball table.
Element Hotels, one of Marriott International’s brands, recently introduced Studio Commons, which has four private guest rooms with a shared kitchen and living room.
The KEX Hotel opened Nov. 7 in Portland, Oregon. The “social hotel” brand that was created in Iceland has 15 shared rooms and 14 private rooms for a c
