New York Creatives Working From Hotels During Pandemic

Stan Parish, writer and international man of mystery (according to us), is one of many NYC creative types resurrecting an old-school trend of artists and writers working from hotel rooms.

According to the New York Post, the work-from-hotel trend is on the rise as pandemic-weary creatives take advantage of slashed room rates to revitalize their workspaces after months of working from home.

“A few days of uninterrupted work is the dream of every creative I know. Hotels are perfect for that,” Parish told the outlet, adding that hotel rooms provide a distraction-free “neutrality” beneficial for creative focus. He’s enjoyed discounted workcations at various hotels throughout the city, including the Beekman, the Soho Grand and Nolitan.

Guests like Parish are quite welcome amid a pandemic that has halted much of the tourism and business travel that used to fill Manhattan hotels. Some, including the NoMad at Broadway and 28th Street, are even offering discounted “locals” rates to entice New Yorkers into a staycation, the Post reported.

While bopping around Europe earlier this year, Parish’s life may have recalled the ex-pat days of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. “I’m going to try to pull off a resurgence of that era, but with well-written crime fiction instead of experimental novels,” the Love and Theft author told InsideHook in July. But his recent Manhattan hotel-hopping represents a throwback to a different bygone trend once popular among creatives of yore, including the likes of Arthur Miller, William S. Burroughs and Maya Angelou.

Parish isn’t the only writer revisiting the glamorous trend. Whether they’re trying to escape at-home distractions or need a creative jolt after months of working from home, plenty of people are turning to hotel rooms to escape the monotony of daily pandemic life.

“I hear it most often from other parents: that these hotel writing respites breathe fresh air into the work process,” writer Sarah Pekkanen told the Post.

It ends up being a win-win. Hotels are desperate for guests and we’re all desperate for an escape. Welcome to the work-from-hotel renaissance.