2022年经济学人 “酒店办公”会流行起来吗？（2）

（单词翻译）

Yet problems soon became apparent.

然而，问题很快就显现出来了。

The first is price.

首先是价格。

An overnight stay at Birch sets you—or, if you are lucky like Bartleby, your employer—back 160 pounds ($192).

在桦木酒店住一晚就要花掉你160英镑(192美元)，但如果你像巴托比一样幸运的话，这笔钱就由你的老板出。

The Shangri-La charges 350 pounds for a standard room.

香格里拉酒店标间的价格则是350英镑。

Cities have plenty of cheaper “third spaces” these days; a co-working space costs a fraction of that.

如今，各个城市有很多更便宜的“第三空间”；联合办公空间的价格只是上述价格的零头。

The second problem is: how productive can workers be with all the distractions¹ that are designed to make work not feel like work?

第二个问题是：在所有旨在让办公变得不像办公的干扰下，员工的工作效率能有多高？

The spectacular view from the Shard² is less conducive³ to dreaming up a sales pitch (or a column) than it is to daydreaming⁴.

比起帮助顾客构思推销口号(或专栏)，从碎片大厦看到的壮观景色反而更有利于白日做梦。

At Birch, boardgames occupy every horizontal surface, ready to draw out the procrastinator⁵ in you.

桦木酒店的每一个台面上都占据着棋盘游戏，随时准备诱发你的拖延症。

And once you are done stretching, that sourdough-baking class is a recipe to keep putting work on the back burner.

一旦你做完拉伸运动，面包烘焙课就会接着让你搁置工作。

Third, if you resist the temptation to temporise and get down to business, you may as well be at home or the office.

第三个问题是，如果你能抵抗住拖延的诱惑，开始认真工作，你还不如居家或在办公室里办公。

The kibbutz-like camaraderie⁶ which Birch (and other places like it cropping up everywhere) try so hard to evoke⁷ is, ironically, the very thing you miss by staying away from your office mates.

讽刺的是，桦木酒店(以及其他随处可见的类似场所)如此努力地想要唤起的集体农场式的友情，正是你远离办公室同事所避开的东西。

While you are updating that spreadsheet or answering emails, luxury hotels’ creature comforts scarcely register.

当你在更新电子表格或回复电子邮件时，几乎不会注意到豪华酒店的物质享受。

As with most material indulgences, a sense of vacuity⁸ descends⁹ once the novelty of the marble floors and stacks of fluffy¹⁰ towels wears off.

就像大多数物质享受一样，一旦大理石地板和成堆的蓬松毛巾带来的新鲜感消失，一种空虚感就会袭来。

The millennials and Gen-Zs meandering¹¹ around Birch suggest that demand for its hip¹² offerings exists.

桦木酒店周围有千禧一代和Z世代在闲逛，这表明对其新潮服务的需求是存在的。

And hoteliers are wise to work their assets in new ways as they cope with changes to their industry: business travel is, after all, unlikely to return to pre-pandemic patterns for a while, if ever.

酒店经营者在应对行业变化时，明智的做法是以新的方式利用自己的资产：毕竟商务旅行一段时间内不太可能回到疫情前的模式。

Just do not expect white-collar types to flock to hotels en masse for a hard day’s work.

只是别指望白领们会为了一天的辛苦工作而蜂拥至酒店。

Most of the Shangri-La’s daytime residents seemed to be couples seeking privacy, not executives keen to inspire and invigorate their pitches.

香格里拉的大多数日间住客似乎都是寻求隐私的情侣，而不是热衷于在构思推销口号时受到启发并精神焕发的高管。

As for Bartleby, you will find her at The Economist’s London head office or, failing that, her kitchen table.

至于巴托比，你会在《经济学人》伦敦总部找到她，如果找不到，去她家的厨房餐桌那里一定能找到。