Employers and the travel industry should look more at how they can meet the demands and needs of 'digital nomads' as the movement continues to grow, according to Sarah Lorenz and Tanja Riel, who run successful online businesses.

Speaking at ITB in Berlin, Riel and Lorenz said that fundamental questions need to be asked and answered about the needs of those who work but call no place permanently home.

Riel said, “This is what this generation�"Millennials�"want. They want flexible working hours, not a nine-to-five job. They want to work from home but that doesn't mean that they're sitting at home, but rather in a cafe or at the park on a bench. This is part-and-parcel of the current generation's modern lifestyle. Employers need to think about this.”

A ‘digital nomad’ is someone who lives without a home base but maintains steady employment made possible through the internet. A relatively new movement, it has spawned hubs of information such as the websites Dynamite Circle or Nomadlist, which according to Forbes have thousands of members.

Riel said, “Let me provide you with an outlook. The term 'digital nomad' has been around for some time, but has been over-used in the press. A lot of companies prefer to cooperate more with freelancers because the bloggers are more independent.”

The ‘digital nomad’ movement has been rising in recent years, with the advent of remote- and self-employment. The documentary One Way Ticket (digitalnomaddocumentary.com), which looks at the lives of self-called ‘digital nomads’ is currently in post-production after having raised nearly $20, 000 in crowdfunding.

The director, herself part of this free-flowing movement of people, told The Huffington Post in December that one of the biggest misconceptions around ‘digital nomads’ is that they are all in their twenties and spend their time partying while moving every few days. In contrast, she found in her work that there was a wide spectrum of people, ages, and careers that were being conducted remotely.

Prior to becoming a freelance marketing consultant and blogger, Lorenz was marketing manager for Pastarie GmbH in Thuringia, and worked in the marketing department of Erfurt airport. Also a marketer, Riel founded the Expertana marketing agency in Berlin five years ago. 

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