Does element Reflect Changes In Worklife?

There has been quite a lot of fuss about the new name of the Starwood hotel brand ‘element’ including discussion on the curve of the letter T and the lowercase name - but many commentators have failed to spot a far more important trend that Starwoods is accommodating.

element is an extended stay hotel. What that means, is that it’s a hotel for longer trips - for consultants, lawyers and the like who have to camp out near their clients for weeks, if not months, on end. Is this part of a larger trend? The Starwood Hotels’ press release reads:

One million Starwood guests stayed in an extended stay hotel in the last year, enough to support over 150 ELEMENT hotels nationwide. As a result, even before its name was unveiled, ELEMENT has been attracting significant developer interest. In fact, Starwood anticipates that there will be 500 ELEMENT hotels worldwide.

…The ELEMENT growth strategy targets locations in proven markets - urban centers, corporate business parks, airports, resorts and lifestyle centers. The brand will be introduced in major destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and North America. Travelers will soon be able to find the space to live their life…wherever there travels take them.

In our world of instant global communication, do we still need to press the flesh when the time comes?