How Blended Living Meets Modern Traveler Needs and Creates Value for Owners

The New Frontier: Blended Living is Transforming Hospitality

In today’s rapidly evolving hospitality landscape, blended living has become more than just a trend—it’s a new standard for modern travelers. Whether guests are extending their stays, blending work with leisure, or seeking a deeper connection with their destinations, hotels must adapt to meet these diverse needs.

According to recent research, blended travel bookings have surged by 72% year-over-year (Skift, 2024), with 50% of guests planning extended stays (Accor, 2024). This shift presents significant opportunities for hotels to embrace blended living as a way to enhance the guest experience while driving new revenue streams.

Accor identified the growing trend of blended living early and has strategically capitalized on it, working alongside our hotel owners to take full advantage of the added business opportunities.

Travelers seek more than just a place to sleep; they crave spaces that encourage interaction and foster a connection with the local community. Hotels that embrace blended living can cater to this demand by creating vibrant social areas where guests and locals can engage in shared experiences, whether through events, dining, or social gatherings.

For deeper insights into this trend, and to discover additional lasting changes shaping the hospitality industry, along with strategies to turn these shifts into opportunities for growth and innovation, be sure to explore our latest report “The New Quality of Time: How the World’s New Tempo Is Impacting Hospitality” from Accor’s award-winning “From Change to Opportunity” series.

How Blended Living Drives Value for Hotel Owners

How can you leverage blended living to unlock its full potential? Let’s find out below ⤵️

Building Living Hubs: Driving Additional Revenue While Gathering Guests & the Local Community

Hotels are uniquely positioned to become living hubs, fostering connections with guests and local communities. Beyond enhancing the guest experience, these efforts can drive additional revenue beyond room bookings, particularly through F&B offerings, and help position the hotel as a key player in the local community, driving repeat visits year-round, generating more off-season business and cultivating brand loyalty.

Meeting Ronei Borba: Insights Into the Business Case of Pullman Vila Olimpia – São Paulo

“Located in the heart of São Paulo's bustling financial hub, our hotel has already established itself as a favorite among corporate travelers. But we’re more than just a destination for business—we’re a vibrant space where unique events connect guests and the local community. We’re soaring beyond hotel boundaries with experiences that blend art, gastronomy, and culture.

· In Art and Wine, guests savor fine wines while creating their own artworks, guided by experts. Held in our lobby, this event transforms participants into stars, with a live audience sharing the excitement.

· Art Battle turns our lobby into a thrilling arena where four artists compete live, completing paintings in just 45 minutes. Guests vote for their favorite, making the event dynamic and interactive.

· During SP Fashion Week, we showcase the best of our offerings—wine tastings, art demonstrations, and immersive experiences—connecting with a wider audience and redefining engagement.

· Dining in the Dark invites guests to enjoy a blindfolded meal, awakening senses beyond sight. With over 4,000 participants so far, this journey into taste, smell, and texture fosters deeper connections with food and company.

These initiatives enhance guest experiences and strengthen community ties, generating more than $ 2 million in additional revenue in 2024. By combining creativity and innovation, we’re shaping unforgettable moments that go far beyond traditional hospitality.”

Tapping Into Bleisure: New Business Opportunities for Hotel Owners!

Blended living represents a strategic opportunity to tap into new markets. By blending business and leisure, it creates opportunities for hotel owners to benefit from new revenue streams. This shift introduces a dynamic mix of business and leisure travelers and brings new guest profiles, such as digital nomads and extended-stay travelers, leading to the creation of innovative models and solutions tailored to clients’ evolving travel needs.

Properties that offer flexible, multi-purpose spaces — where guests can work, relax, and socialize — are seeing significant increases in occupancy rates and revenue per available room (RevPAR). Hotels can further enhance revenue by offering subscription models and exclusive memberships for their spaces.

"Affluent customers today seek more diverse lifestyle offerings - enriching experiences, customized services, vibrant food & drink venues, and social spaces - that far go beyond the traditional hotel offering. Blended living experiences are opening up a whole new dimension for our extraordinary hotel brands." — Agnès Roquefort , Global Chief Development Officer, Luxury & Lifestyle

“Integrated throughout our hospitality brands, blended living offers are unlocking significant value, optimizing revenue opportunities, and diversifying investment risk through a differentiated service offering that caters to travelers' needs while also meeting market demand.” — Camil Yazbeck , Global Chief Development Officer, Premium, Midscale & Economy

Leveraging Mixed-Use: Driving Value Creation

Blended living also drives new opportunities for hotel companies, investors and homebuyers alike, by creating a favorable environment to further reinforce the growth of mixed-use development, which combines living, working, and leisure pursuits. Mixed-use developments are a demonstrated source of added revenue potential for investors and developers and can command a rental premium of up to 20% compared to single-use buildings, as highlighted in a recent JLL report. In line with this, Accor One Living, launched in 2023, is an industry-first 360º platform focused on the development, design, and operation of mixed-use projects and branded homeowner communities. Tapping into this new hospitality sector promises exciting opportunities for future growth and value creation opportunities for investors.

“Mixed-use development, including branded residential, is front and center in terms of growing our hospitality brands. It’s a key business accelerator for Accor as well as our development partners; in fact, the majority of our new development activity now feature mixed-use elements. In addition to hotel and residential components, we are increasingly enhancing these projects through the addition of other innovative hospitality offerings, including exciting food and drink venues, private clubs, and coworking concepts.” - Jeff Tisdall , Chief Business Officer, Accor One Living

Meeting Daniel Kingston: Insights Into the Business Case of Ennismore’s SO/ Uptown - Dubai

"Mixed-use developments create significant value for property owners by capitalizing on the synergy between the hotel and Residences. Resident owners purchase more than just a property: they acquire a five-star luxury lifestyle experience. The hotel enhances this experience by offering a range of à la carte services, including housekeeping, maintenance support, personalized chefs, and bespoke meal plans. With 24/7 concierge services, we ensure that residents enjoy seamless support at any time of day.

Notably, 50% of our Resident owners choose to rent out their units for long stays, commanding premium rates due to the added value created by the hotel. The Residences, in turn, bolster the hotel’s ecosystem by providing a built-in audience who utilize our facilities, including F&B offerings, meeting spaces, and event venues. These residents become natural extensions of the hotel’s community. By delivering exceptional experiences, we cultivate brand ambassadors, high-net-worth individuals who own multiple properties and advocate for our brand’s prestige.

To strengthen this relationship, we host monthly residential gatherings that foster engagement and allow us to gather valuable feedback. Residents often express surprise

and delight at the elevated level of attention and service they receive. Beyond these gatherings, we’ve introduced activations such as movie nights in the private Residential Lounge. These initiatives transform transactional interactions into meaningful connections, creating a strong sense of community among residents.

As remote work becomes more prevalent, the Residences play an integral role in activating our spaces. Residents treat the hotel as an extension of their home, utilizing shared spaces such as the restaurant, lobby, or co-working areas to work, socialize, or relax. Their presence not only drives additional revenue but also animates public spaces, creating a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere that appeals to external guests and enhances the overall guest experience."

Looking Ahead: Blended Living as a Long-Term Strategy

Blended living is quickly becoming a fixture in the hospitality industry, effectively positioning hotels that adopt this model to attract a new breed of traveler—those who value community engagement, flexible spaces, and authentic experiences. By creating dynamic environments that cater to both guests and locals, hotels can drive repeat business, foster loyalty, and unlock new revenue streams.

For hotel owners, embracing this model is not just a trend—it’s a strategy for long-term profitability and success. By continuously adapting to the needs of modern travelers, and fostering deep connections with local communities, hotels can ensure they remain at the forefront of the hospitality industry.

Together, let’s explore the possibilities of blended living and shape a more sustainable and rewarding future for hospitality! If you want to know more, read our article on Accor.com.

💡If you want to know more about hospitality trends, don’t hesitate to read Accor's new #FromChangeToOpportunity report, titled The New Quality of Time: How the World’s New Tempo Is Impacting Hospitality. You can read it here → https://group.accor.com/en/Actualites/2024/09/the-new-quality-of-time-insights-report