POWER Staying
The ever-expanding serviced apartment sector is providing stiff competition for the hotel sector. Dinah Hatch examines the pros and cons of what suppliers claim is a real home from home
BARELY a week passes without a serviced apartment company trumpeting the opening of a new property. Whether it’s a converted warehouse in Manchester or a 1,000-unit shiny new tower block in Shanghai, the sector seems to be growing by the minute. Talk to any provider and they will trot out their
latest growth plans. To name but two, Ascott aims to open 40,000 new units by 2015 (an increase of 48 per cent on its existing portfolio), while Frasers has just opened in Budapest, is about to open in Istanbul and is expanding in the Middle East with plans for up to 4,000 extra units worldwide by the end of 2012. These facts seem surprising at first, given
that we are still emerging from a recession that cut deep into the budgets of corporations large and small across the globe. But the sector has weathered the recession
well. Better, according to Frasers Hospitality chief operating officer Guus Bakker, than the hotel sector. He explains: “During the height of the recession we experienced a drop of around five per cent in business against the hotel sector which was 20 to 25 per cent down. In June 2010, we registered a seven per cent increase year on year and 11 per cent when the new properties are taken into account.” Through a combination of innovative thinking, profile raising and sheer determination to get the message out to corporations about their product offering, the sector now seems to be flourishing. Big names in banking and finance, law, insurance, entertainment and pharmaceuticals (think UBS, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Credit Suisse) now routinely mandate stays at serviced apartments for stays of over five days. By doing so, they are setting an example
to smaller players who see that there is money to be saved and greater comfort to be offered to their employees into the bargain. James Swift, business development manager
at Skyline serviced apartments, says this trend is thanks to the work the sector as a whole has done to raise awareness. “Serviced apartments are simply gaining much more acceptance from corporates and banks these days. Banks have brought in travel policies where for five nights or more people have to stay in a serviced apartment,” he says. “They are integrating us into their travel programme. Why? Serviced apartments are cheaper and the living standards are better. There is also an element of the recession in their decision. But more than that it is about the industry as a whole having put time and effort into raising awareness. More and more people are clued into the existence of serviced apartments and the benefits they provide.” He continues, “Every bank and major corporate which has people doing inter- national travel through London, Europe and North America uses serviced apartments now and has a programme for this in place.” Carol Harwood, director of House of Fisher Serviced apartments, which has properties in Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead and Basing- stoke, adds, “House of Fisher has seen more companies including serviced apartments within their preferred business programmes as well as promoting the use of them internally on their intranet sites. Companies recognise serviced apartments are a viable and cost efficient alternative to corporate hotels.” According to the sector’s industry body, the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP), demand for serviced apartments in the UK has been increasing since the second
➔
WWW.THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM I 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104