Luxury home accommodation business, UnderTheDoormat, has launched a new service for corporate stays to help London-based employers get their key staff back to their offices safely.

This response to what may become a growing need could spread to other metropolitan areas of the country if it proves to be a success.

Since COVID-19 hit the UK and closed down ‘going to work’ as we know it, employees’ attitudes towards the daily commute have changed markedly.

Because of the success people have made of homeworking, they are now far less keen on travelling to the capital every day especially on public transport.

They are now more likely to want to return to their workplaces if they can reduce the number of days commuting, thus avoiding the risk of coronavirus infection and to gain some time back in their lives.

So, companies who want to encourage more staff to return to their city offices face a struggle with the issue of safeguarding their employees’ health if they have to travel frequently on public transport.

UnderTheDoormat believes its portfolio of London-based accommodation can offer a practical solution for many of the capital’s employers.

It can offer employers high quality accommodation to house their staff in, for several nights at a time, enabling them to stay over rather than have to travel to and from London multiple times a week.

Its Corporate Stay Programme enables companies and executives to book homes in London, on a flexible basis, that are near enough to their offices to be able to walk to work.

This can apply to staff who either opt for 3 days a week in the office or a  ‘week-on, week-off’ rotation.

UnderTheDoormat believes that by reducing the number of times people have to travel to and from the capital on public transport, companies will see a better uptake in returning employees and help to reduce their biggest potential exposure.

Research published recently by O2 revealed that employees are now more inclined to move further away from their place of work as they realise that they do not need to brave the daily commute anymore and can restrict themselves to maybe one visit a week to their office.

The research showed that whilst currently only around a third of UK employees live further than 30 minutes from their place of work, two-thirds now say that they would be prepared to move at least an hour’s travel time away if they do not need to go in every day.

UnderTheDoormat CEO, Merilee Karr, explains:

“There’s no doubt that employment practices are going to change.

“The COVID-19 crisis has proved that most employees can work from home effectively for a significant period of the working week.

“But employers will still need staff to come into their offices once lockdown eases.

“Whilst COVID-19 still exists in our communities, companies have a duty of care to provide their staff with robust options to attend their workplaces safely.

“We believe that we can offer employers a great opportunity to house their staff in London safely for a few nights a week by using our portfolio of homes designed for short-term stays.

“Our 10-point Hygiene promise guarantees that each property will be cleaned to the new industry-wide cleaning protocols, giving guests the confidence and reassurance that they are staying in a clean and safe environment.

“Our Corporate Stay Programme will be ideal for business leaders, key workers, international travellers and even MPs who will find it necessary to attend meetings in London more often as lockdown eases.

“We are positive that once workers experience the comfort of staying in one of our properties, where they have their own space and kitchens and won’t need to venture outside too much, they will agree that a stay for a few nights is preferable to a daily commute.

“And, for people that have to travel internationally for their jobs, our properties will offer a safe haven whilst they quarantine and, in future, offer a better experience than a hotel as there are fewer risks of interacting with other people.”