www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
Serviced apartments
SACO, York Road, Waterloo, London
night stays, but then some guests are staying for three months and more, and 95 per cent of our business comes from the corporates themselves. “The sort of guests we are getting are project workers: IT consultants, auditors, film crews – oil and gas is a big one these days – and these people need to stay a lot longer.”
SYSTEM OF ACCREDITATION Corporate buyers and travellers alike also need to be assured of the quality of their home-from-home, which raises the question of some form of accreditation system. However, the sector is far from agreeing on the whys and wherefores of a universal accreditation system similar to hotel star-rating. Joanna Fisher at the Ascott Limited says: “Frankly, I don’t see that we need an accreditation system, and I’m not convinced that any such scheme would work. The world is a much smaller place these days, people are travelling much more, and business and leisure travellers’ requirements are so much more diverse now – a rating system isn’t really in line with today’s needs.
She adds: “When you look at the big companies, they are building brands rather than seeking global
SACO’s Ben Harper SACO, Broad Quay, Bristol
“The big companies are building brands rather than seeking global accreditations”
accreditations – brand development is the way to go.” It seems this is exactly what operator Bridgestreet is doing. This year its “refreshed brand concept”, re-named Bridgestreet Global Hospitality, has launched six distinct “serviced apartment experiences”, ranging from the two-star Stüdyo through to the six-star Exclusive brand. Chief executive Sean Worker said of the launch: “Bridgestreet Global Hospitality conforms to consumer aspirations and expectations of how a brand should
communicate and interface with them. With our goal to provide inspiration to evolve the serviced apartment sector, Bridgestreet is conforming to the travel language our consumers, employees and supply chain can easily understand, along with a degree of sophistication.” For its Exclusive category, Bridgstreet is aiming for the sort of headline-grabbing, high-profile properties usually associated with luxury hotel brands. Planned Exclusive-branded properties include the Michael Schumacher World Tower in the Gurgaon district of New Delhi, featuring sky gardens, home automation systems, terraces for entertaining and a cantilevered helicopter pad (see picture, p101). It is set to open in 2015.
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