Is It Tourism or Is It Remote Work? The Line Is Getting Blurry

Campaigns to promote destinations as ideal remote work spots are becoming more sophisticated. So much so they’re now unapologetically crossing over into mainstream tourism.

In the U.S., West Virginia’s success in attracting people with a $12,000 cash bonus, free co-working space and a free outdoor recreation package for two years — which Skift briefly covered here — has taken its tourism department by surprise.

The Ascend WV campaign website has notched up more than 175,000 unique website visitors so far, with 6,500 people from 50 states in the U.S. (and 67 countries) applying. It launched April 12, and closes May 31, 2021.

Chelsea Ruby, secretary, West Virginia Department of Tourism. Picture: West Virginia Department of Tourism

The multi-year program, which starts in Morgantown, but later extends to Lewisburg and Shepherdstown, could be one of the country’s first tourism-led initiatives to intertwine remote work so closely.

“We’ve been blown away by the interest we’ve received … I think it’s possibly the next step in tourism,” said Chelsea Ruby, secretary at the West Virginia Department of Tourism.

“People ask me why tourism is involved. The answer’s simple — it’s the same message. All the things that make West Virginia a top tourism destination make it a top remote work destination.”

It’s all about the outdoors and mountains, and part of the campaign centers around the idea of a “permanent vacation.” Ruby said that 87 percent of visitors to the state come back.

Philanthropists Wanted

However, West Virginia does have an unfair advantage. Ascend WV was made possible by a $25 million gift from Brad and Alys Smith, who have founded the WVU Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative.

Brad Smith is the president, and former CEO, of the financial software giant Intuit — and a West Virginia native. The donation was presented to West Virginia University.

“We are incredibly appreciative of the $25 million gift Brand and Alys gave. That’s what’s making all of this possible,” Ruby said. “One of the initiatives was that he wanted us to create the nation’s premier remote work program, leveraging West Virginia’s outdoor recreation.”

However, she added that the state had been looking to set up a program before, teaming up with the university.

It’s not the only state to offer cash-for-relocation, or to benefit from a generous benefactor. More on the economic development front, Tulsa, in Oklahoma, has been offering $10,000 to attract talent.

Its Tulsa Remote program started in November 2018, and is financially backed by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. It’s received 20,000 applications so far.

Northwest Alabama is also handing out $10,000 for remote workers via its Remote Shoals scheme.

Where West Virginia differs is that it is using the same messaging it does for tourism as it does for remote work: less tax breaks, more white-water rafting.

“It captures the moment perfectly, and is an acceleration of the democratization of remote work blended brilliantly with economic incentives,” said Jessica Berk Ross, managing partner at global marketing agency Finn Partners. “Places where the cost of living is lower and that have leisure and outdoor activities in abundance will do very well. We’ll see more offerings like this.”

The cost of living is certainly lower, but at the same time the state comes in fairly low in US News’ Best States list, at 47 (Oklahoma was 43).

An influx of remote workers, with the help of philanthropists, could certainly address this.

Making an Impression

Meanwhile, in terms of marketing budget, not every state or destination is going to be able to justify such big outlays.

You could argue that $12,000 isn’t a huge amount per new resident. New York City is deploying a record $30 million to woo back tourists, while organizations like Visit Williamsburg are spending $9 million this year.

The bigger burden will be maintaining co-working spaces, and organizing other activities to keep the local community happy and remote workers engaged.

“Getting 175,000 page impressions is pretty good, but it’s hard to assess the long-term tangible returns of Ascend VW’s initial outlay,” said Bruce Martin, managing director of travel marketing agency Ginger Juice.

“On the other hand, having 50 remote workers spreading the word on what a great place they’ve moved to can be a really good return, given that user-generated content is the most trustworthy form of marketing,” he added.

Ruby said her main goal is to attract and retain talent, and that soon they’ll start the arduous task of filtering the applicants, with criteria including questions like “why would you be a good fit for this program?” using a selection committee, with interviews taking place at the end.

She cited one recent report that stated 37 percent of Americans will be able to work remotely, which represents a significant target market, and one that wasn’t really there before the pandemic, or at least that large.

“It will be interesting to see how other tourism boards and agencies get involved with this, from the advertising side, and how much they join forces with their localities,” Ruby added.

Sidenotes

Working out the best approach to marketing equally applies to co-working space providers today.

WeWork’s relatively new CEO Sandeep Mathrani has, cannily, enraged Twitter with his statement that “people are happier when they come to work.” He also said “those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home,” speaking at a recent Wall Street Journal event.

Of course someone who sells office space would say this, but it’s still garnered the brand plenty of free publicity.

Yet it touches a nerve. There’s still a debate to be had around the future of work. Should employers frog-march staff back to the office, or is the post-pandemic future to be employee led?

It’s becoming polarized, and voices are currently loudest in the financial sector, with the gap steadily growing between the U.S. and Europe, according to a Bloomberg Opinion report. It cites France’s Societe Generale as one example of relaxing attitudes, with the bank allowing employees to work from home at least two days a week. No mean feat in a country like France, which protects its workers from any risks of “over-working” more than most, with its El Khomri Law a case in point.

It’s a different story in the U.S., where lenders can’t wait to get back in the office, the report argues.

While WeWork’s Mathrani opines people should be getting back, some hospitality companies reshaping their business models around the idea.

Back to France, and in March, Accor’s deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin told Skift he wanted to aggressively expand its Wojo co-working brand.

The CEO is now taking things a step further. The flex-office “is a gigantic universe, perhaps larger than the one I am in today, which will give us the ability to pivot,” Sebastien Bazin told BFM Business, according to reports.

It’s an evolution on co-working spaces, which can often mean a reliable Wifi signal in a hotel lobby. Flex-offices offer more permanent, private spaces.

“I want groups like ours, with a long history, to be able to bounce back, to use technical and digital tools, and to create marketplaces,” Bazin said.

The debate will probably carry on for much longer, and the cultural divide will grow bigger. But as it does, savvy destinations and hospitality brands will make sure they’re at the center of those conversations.

10-Second Corporate Travel Catch-Up

Who and what Skift has covered over the past week: Amadeus, American Airlines, Certares, Cisco, Eventbrite, Flyiin, Gray Dawes Group, IAG, Marriott, Sherpa,

In Brief

Modified Workplace Models are Mostly Here to Stay

A new survey shows 64 percent of business leaders plan to adopt a different operating model than they had before Covid-19, with 61 percent pointing to employee experience as the main reason for the change.

The Unisys Digital Workplace Insights Report also shows more than two-thirds of business leaders and nearly 60 percent of employees believe a modified work schedule such as staggered and/or flexible shifts will be an important part of policy in the future.

Beat Airport Queues by Booking Check-In Slots

With reports some airports could struggle to process passengers efficiently due to extra Covid-19 related checks, one airline is testing new queuing technology. British Airways is trialling a system from Qmatic, which lets customers virtually queue at check-in by pre-booking their slot time in advance of arriving at the airport.

The technology, which is optional for customers, will be trialled by the airline for three months on selected flights departing from Heathrow Terminal 5 in the UK. Customers who haven’t booked a check-in slot through Qmatic can also join a virtual queue by scanning a QR code.

TravelBank Starts Cryptocurrency Rewards Program

Financial services provider Brex has launched a cryptocurrency rewards program for businesses. It has teamed up with corporate travel agency TravelBank, which will power the redemption program, allowing users to input the amount of points they want to redeem for the Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrency, according to reports.

“We’re honored to provide this new innovation for Brex, alongside our new partnership with Coinbase. Together we aim to deliver the next generation of rewards platforms to include travel, gift cards, and now cryptocurrencies,” said TravelBank CEO Duke Chung.

However, the timing of the new partnership coincides with Tesla CEO Elon Musk announcing the carmaker would no longer accept purchases using bitcoin. “We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” he said on Twitter.