Serviced apartments ➔
they can compare hotels and serviced apartments and have a one-stop-shop for their travel needs.
The booker’s tale Unsatisfactory booking facilities are beginning to impinge on corporate adoption of serviced apartments and it is a cautionary tale to the providers. Serviced apartments comprise eight per cent of PwC’s accommodation needs, amounting to more than £20million worth of business – and that is only the transient element, the firm’s mobility teams also use them. The firm’s head of hotels and venues, Sam
van Leeuwen, is not impressed with booking facilities. “I am sceptical about whether they have systems that are touch free,” she says. “A few of them seem to say you can book online but it just means you fill out the volumes and that goes to a reservations team who do a search and then respond. “The response time for apartments is a lot slower than hotels and that can cause
frustration. Some have too much inventory to respond quickly and others run at high occupancy and are too tight on inventory. That makes it a lot trickier for us when we are trying to put new bookings in. We need to build in the flexibility to extend and we need better turnaround on placing bookings. Providers should remain as flexible as possible,” says van Leeuwen. “Unless it improves, we may need to take
on more providers because the booking process is becoming more and more challenging,” she adds. PwC’s increasingly mobile workforce may
work in London for four days a week for three weeks and check out for the weekend. “We are booking for just four nights because that is more cost effective – and we have a real challenge placing that,” says van Leeuwen. “We do end up going back to the hotel model.” And when providers have a lot of space,
they undercut competitors to fill accommo- dation, only to put rates up again when business improves. “This goes against what
➔
Pictured: Left: Ascott Citadines; Above: BridgeStreet; SACO
“Some apartment providers have too much inventory to respond quickly and others run at high occupancy and are too tight on inventory. That makes it a lot trickier for us when we are trying to put new bookings in”
NEW SELECT AP TBTM.qxd:Layout 2 15/8/11 16:42 Page 1 When you select, you choose...
• 92% of enquiries handled within 2 Hours* • Wider range of apartment alternatives • Advisers who negotiate apartment answers
Call 0845 055 6352 To see our full range of apartments and locations visit
selectapartments.co.uk
*KPI Stats April - June 2011 * April 2011 to April 2012
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