That same company behind the “Booking-dotyeah” tagline has a growing office presence in the Orlando market — and it’s pretty indicative of the biggest trends in office design. E-commerce travel company Booking.com (USA) Inc.—part of Amsterdam-based Booking Holdings Inc.—first established itself in the tourist corridor near Universal Orlando Resort about 10 years ago with just one person. Very quickly, that grew to be a team of five and today, 82 people work for the company’s back-office operations in town.
With that fast growth came a need for an office that would fit the company’s unique needs with plenty of space to put your head down and work, but also areas for collaboration and for winding down, not to mention welcoming workers from other offices or clients.
So nearly two years ago, the firm moved to a 14,000-sq.-ft. office complex known as Sand Lake IV. But this wasn’t just about getting the company’s real estate department and corporate parent in the Netherlands to coordinate on what options would save the most money. Rather, employee input was a big part of the project planning and design.
“The team helped decide final meeting room names, the wall graphics, and we even voted on the ‘fun’ elements—that’s how we ended up with putt-putt and cornhole games in the office,” said Amanda Meyer, office team lead for the eight East Coast Booking.com offices, including Orlando. “It was a big, year-long project and everyone was involved. We even had the furniture vendor come to the old office and had people try out and decide which pieces would be most comfortable for the kitchen.”
In the end, Booking.com’s Orlando “non-CS office” as it’s known took on a very Florida-forward look with a bright color scheme, workstations in an open area, floor-to-ceiling windows with lake views and plenty of the “fun” element.
In fact, Booking.com’s Orlando buildout is yet another example of how the worldwide trend of creating an innovative, open and eye-catching office for workers—an effort that helps retain and attract the best and brightest—has become a standard practice these days.