SERVICED APARTMENTS
brand ‘aparthotel’ may provide for their three-month stay could currently cause a few headaches for a TMC – but who is to say that it won’t be a key growth area of development in the future? “We are certainly providing these services
for many agents that require this particular support,” adds Layton. “We are all aware that an extended-stay booking can be more emotive than a flight for 12 hours or a hotel stay of four nights – hence the serviced apartment arena has remained slightly more ‘offline’ and consultative than the normal GDS bookable products. The cancellation terms can also be more costly.”
WHAT DO TMCs THINK? Alexander Blunt, head of land product at FCM Travel Solutions, has seen growing demand from clients. “We have partnerships with several serviced apartment companies and our sales have been growing at a steady rate with all of them over the past three years. We are keeping a very close eye on the sector as we strongly believe it is only going to continue to grow. “From a TMC perspective, the benefit is
that we can offer our customers more choice and accommodation options that some
travellers feel are more suitable when they’re away on business for longer durations. There are challenges in distributing the inventory as a lot of the new start-ups are not available in the major GDSs or OBTs.” Mark Bevan, head of strategic relation-
ships at Business Travel Direct, has had a similar experience. “We have seen a steady rise in the use of serviced apartments in the last few years. This has been mainly driven by our clients taking on long-term projects such as retail refurbishments or software installations, which require staff to be away from home for longer periods. “Serviced apartments come into their own
where more than one person can share with other members of staff. In such circumstanc- es it becomes a very commercially viable proposition for a corporate to use a serviced apartment, and travellers can use them to work from, even if they are in between meetings, as they can come back to them and work just as they would do when they are nearer home.” Providers appear to be in a relatively
bullish mood. According to an ASAP-com- missioned study conducted by property giant Savills and published late last year, 47.7 per cent of those questioned said they
were more positive about business prospects than they had been six months earlier. The Operator Sentiment Tracker Survey
also revealed that almost 41 per cent of respondents said they intended to accelerate expansion programmes this year, compared with barely 28 per cent who said the same in November 2016. Almost two-thirds (63.6 per cent) said they expected 2018 business to be better than in 2017. ASAP chief executive James Foice takes
a glass-half-full stance. “Last year was a phenomenal year of growth for our ser- viced apartment sector right across the UK and it’s particularly encouraging to see operators confirming in our Sentiment survey that they remain committed to their future expansion plans.” Tom Meertens, Oakwood Worldwide’s
EMEA managing director, says he’s still celebrating his company’s ‘best serviced apartment provider’ triumph at January’s Business Travel Awards. “It’s a reflection of the hard work and dedication of everyone at Oakwood Worldwide,” he says. “Our business continues to grow and there are exciting developments to watch out for in the coming year.” We can all drink to that.
A thriving serviced apartments sector
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ANALYST STR has
confirmed that, as of October 2017, 3,677 new serviced apartments were due to open in the UK by 2020. The company also reveals that 2,000 new apartments opened in the first ten months of last year, and the pipeline is only likely to grow. This year, openings are set to continue apace.
• Cycas Hospitality has signed up the 315-suite
Residence Inn Kensington – the largest extended-stay property in Europe and the third largest in the world – in addition to a 116-unit Staybridge Suites aparthotel in Manchester.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
• Staycity Aparthotels is due to open its first Wilde
Aparthotels by Staycity, in London’s Covent Garden, offering 106 apartments, while Supercity Aparthotels is opening a 53-key unit in nearby Holborn, and has announced a new aparthotel in Brighton and a refurbished existing property in Manchester.
• London and Manchester are the main beneficiaries of
expansion plans this year. Grange Hotels is set to open a 270-key, all-suite hotel overlooking the Tower of London. SACO is opening a 27-unit in nearby Moorgate, plus a 150-unit Locke-branded property in Manchester.
• Go Native is opening in London’s Bankside with 75
units, and in Manchester with 168; Adagio is moving into London Stratford with 137 apartments; and The Ascott has announced a Q4 opening date for a 108-key Citadines property in Islington.
• Bridgestreet Global Hospitality will this year open
a 20-key Stow-Away unit in Waterloo, and a Living By Bridgestreet in West London, plus the 82-key Mode Queen Street in Edinburgh, where Lateral City Apartments opens the 50-key Edinburgh Grand.
Go Native is opening 75 units in London’s Bankside
BBT March/April 2018 109
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