Goksel Osman, executive assistant to the chief technology officer, Inmarsat
“WE HAVE OFFICES ALL OVER THE WORLD and when managers come here for more than three nights, we use serviced apartments as opposed to hotels. If they are used to booking a hotel, we point out the serviced apartments near here and once people have used them, they ask for serviced apartments next time – and they spread the word. “They are not really part of policy, though I have got an agreement with
one provider to supply serviced apartments for us through our travel company. I know what I am looking for and always view properties on offer – some are quite horrendous. You don’t want to put people somewhere that is not suitable and you cannot ask someone to stay there if you have not seen it.”
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by 2015, bringing the number of properties to 100; Sonesta entered the market with a 141-room US property in Burlington, Vermont; and Frasers launched extended-stay brand Capri by Fraser, with a new property in Singapore. The property, near Changi airport, features 313 studios with kitchenettes, meeting room for up to 40 people kitted and out with tech for “gesture controlled” presentations, a fitness centre, plus a pool. Closer to home, and in response to growing demand, SACO recently opened a second property in Canary
Wharf. “This type of model works really well – the familiarity of the check-in process, akin to a hotel, reassures guests and gives them the confidence to try an apartment rather than a hotel,” says SACO sales director Jo Redman. “Some guests, for example single female travellers, do not always feel comfortable staying in an unmanned location, even when meet-and-greet is offered to settle the guest in.” Elsewhere, TAS introduces a new property in Bracknell in October.
SACO Canary Wharf
And this year, Cycas Hospitality opened a Staybridge Suites and Holiday Inn under one roof in London’s Westfield Stratford City, overlooking the Olympic park. “As I predicted five or six years ago, now the first few are out there, other companies have tied their wagon to the train, as they recognise there is a market for this type of property,” says director of Cycas Hotel Partners, John Wagner.
ON THE WAY UP And occupancies are high. Cycas’s target was that 60 per cent of guests should be staying at least a week. “We are at or above that and have been for several weeks – but we hadn’t anticipated we would hit that target for a year,” Wagner says. However, he adds, “credit remains a challenge – banks’ reluctance to