One notable phenomenon amid all the changes of the COVID-19 pandemic is the huge number of employees working from home, and now if Wi-Fi is up to scratch, home can be just about anywhere.

That has given remote, relatively unpopulated areas a new lease on life, and hotels are at the center of this development. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Scottish islands and Highlands districts.

Chris Wayne-Wills, CEO of Crerar Hotels, said his hotel group has invested heavily into making remote communities viable places for work and attractive to staff, locals and new inhabitants.

His 75-room Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa on the Isle of Mull — a Hebridean island to the west of the Scottish mainland, and with a population of 2,800 — is the largest hotel on the island, and it requires a notable number of staff.

The hotel currently is finishing up a renovation with an estimated cost of 3.5 million pounds sterling ($4.9 million). General Manager John de Villiers is among those who have decided on a new life on the Scottish isle, having moved in April with his wife and young son from Namibia.

“We buy houses to house staff, and their presence and income helps the island and brings more people to it. Some staff are retirees who still want to work, but perhaps only a couple of days a week, and the hotel has provided locals with nice places to eat,” he said.

Populations are dwindling in some Scottish areas such as the Outer Hebrides, also known by its Gaelic name of Eilean Siar, but that is not the case in other remote locations.

In the Scottish government’s midyear population estimate conducted in 2020, the Outer Hebrides had a population of 26,500, a year-over-year decrease of 0.8% or 220 people. Deaths (375) exceeded births (203), a pattern that has been the norm for the past several decades.

Between 2010 and 2020, the population of the island of Orkney increased by 5.6%. For the same period, the entire population of Scotland increased by 3.9%.

Another hotelier helping to inject passion and sustainability into his hotels is Andrew Mackay, owner of the three-hotel Caithness Collection and a board member of nonprofit marketing organization Highland Tourism.

His assets include the 48-room The Norseman in Wick, 28-room The Castletown and 42-room The Pentland hotels in nearby Thurso. All are in the very north of mainland Scotland — closer to Oslo, Norway, than they are to London.

Mackay said domestic guests have traveled to far-flung destinations such as his hotels when allowed to during the pandemic, and some fell in love with what they found.

“There is an element of people coming up on a visit and wanting to come back, desiring a change in lifestyle. Some organized job interviews. That is lovely to see, and we are seeing more of it,” he said, adding that once people move to such places, many become active parts of the community.

His hotel hosts annual general meetings and other community events.

“The lucky towns and villages have high-speed Internet. [Wi-Fi] needs to be improved in places farther out,” Mackay said.

He added his business at his hotels has increased lately, but “we’re not turning people away from the door quite yet.”

Wayne-Wills said other ways Crerar Hotels is helping islanders include lending vehicles and donating 50% of dispensable profits to local charities.

“So far we have raised more than 8 million pounds,” he said.

Richard Lewis, director of global addressing system What3Words and former CEO of Landmark Hotels & Suites and Best Western United Kingdom, said online and app developments have a vital role to play, too.

He said every three-meter-by-three-meter piece of the Isle of Mull has an unique three-word address, which is how his system permits users to navigate and discover the island.

“Three years ago Mull invited us, and now everywhere on Mull has a unique address,” he said, adding hotels do not pay for the service and that part of the operation does not make a commercial gain.

The Scottish government is aware of the trend and the challenges involved, launching on Aug. 2 the consultation phase of its 5-million-pounds-sterling Islands Bond scheme, which includes grants of 50,000 pounds sterling to young people and families “to buy, build or renovate homes, start businesses and otherwise make their lives for the long-term in island communities.”

The consultation phase ends on Oct. 24.