Skift Take
Emerging digital nomad "trading routes" was just one revelation at Skift’s Future of Lodging Forum this week, and traditional hotel companies have plenty else to learn from hospitality startups embracing new future of work trends.
The Silk Road and Spice Route developed over centuries as key trading pathways. Now one hotel expert believes digital nomads are demonstrating similar new travel patterns that depend on their nationalities. Hospitality companies have everything to gain if they can uncover them.
Central and South America in particular are hotspots for remote workers, according to a senior exec at Selina, speaking at Skift’s Future of Lodging Forum on Wednesday.
“They are cross-pollinating and moving around,” said Sam Khazary, senior vice president of global corporate development. “We’ve almost figured out these travel routes.”
He cited Panama as one example.
“A lot of people in Israel spend a lot of time on the west coast of Panama. I have no idea why, it’s been like that the past 35 years. It is what it is, right? There are interesting travel dynamics,” he said during the "How Shifts in Lifestyle and Work Will Reshape Hospitality" panel session.
Fortunately, two thirds of Selina’s portfolio is in Central and South America, and Khazary was just one of several hospitality leaders looking to tap into the rich seam of digital nomads.
Under the “Great Merging” subtext to the two-day forum in New York, other experts discussed how the travel industry was reacting to consumers increasingly blending the way they work, socialize and travel.
Corporate Spend Will Return
Search volumes at metasearch
