SERVICED APARTMENTS
Commenting on Brexit, Mr Meertens reflected that, following
the referendum, there had been so much noise around the topic, followed by the November US elections, that it had been difficult to gauge the potential impact on the serviced apartments market. As he explained, Oakwood offered global solutions, so if clients were no longer in London, they would be accommodated in Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt, or their latest destination. As an organisation, Oakwood was not committed to long-
term builds, he said, and there was flexibility to scale up or down properties in particular locations or regions. It was important to be ahead of the trends, and to understand the regions to which clients were going. Tom Meertens felt that a lot of Oakwood’s Fortune 500
clients were still planning their Brexit strategies, and adopting a considered approach rather than making rash decisions. Oakwood was still experiencing very high occupancy, and, with competitive daily rates, its market share had not fallen. Dublin was the company’s biggest European city after London,
and an important destination for its clients. Demand was through the roof, Mr Meertens said, ref lected by property prices and occupancy. Commenting on the potential to support Brexit demand, he
emphasised Oakwood’s long experience of providing group- move solutions. The company’s history with oil and gas clients ref lects its understanding of the relocation marketplace. Oil prices are lower, and obviously such clients are price driven, but compliance comes first for the sector. It is all about transparency and justifying the cost. If oil and gas projects are cut short, there is movement.
‘Better than best’ Particular regions, such as Africa, could present challenges, but Oakwood would offer a client a solutions package in locations like Angola. This could include 24-hour security and escorts. Oakwood was used to dealing with clients’ risk-assessment teams and very focused on assignee safety, as its employees could sometimes be targets, Tom Meertens said. He emphasised that Oakwood had a robust supplier network
to service its wide-ranging client base. Industry sectors have cycles, too. The technology market was
huge, Mr Meertens explained, and that accounted for the high occupancy in Dublin. A recent PwC report found that 20 per cent of Millennials expected to go on international assignments. For these travellers, shorter, 60-day assignments were common. New developments included Oakwood’s new studio brand in Singapore, which was perfect for this demographic. Keeping up with trends, the Oakwood App was proving very
popular with clients; it ticked the box with regard to tracking, which was so important for employers and emphasised their commitment to duty of care. Oakwood already had 400 apartments that could be booked online. Ref lecting on disrupters in the market, such as Airbnb, Tom
Meertens felt they helped Oakwood to do a better job with its guests. “Our goal, he said, “is to be better than best.”
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