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Build is high spec, with marble in both bathrooms and kitchens, and the restaurant will be Unwined, run by the operators of the eponymous wine shop, bar and restaurant in Tooting. Rooms in the Waterloo property are 21 sqm but other Stow-away properties will start at 18 sqm. Ciel and Stow also acquired Central Hall in Birmingham this year, which will be converted into an aparthotel under a US brand that is not yet in the UK – a Stow- away plus retail facilities. The schedule is to be completed in 2019.


 Technology will play a major role in the Bridgestreet micro-apartments property, including a mobile app that will enable access to the room, as there is no reception at the Lower Marsh property. Stow- Away’s booking technology goes direct to BridgeStreet.com, which Bridgestreet launched this year with channel managers Siteminder, Cubilis, Rentals United and Ratetiger. The company is also developing its open API, giving direct access to the site, circumventing channel managers. For clients such as UBS, which sources apartments through Bridgestreet and other suppliers, this presents challenges. “We have seen the website, but we still have to customise it and we need to decide which vendors are included,” says Kevin Carr, global hotel programme manager at UBS. “I’d like to get to a point where we can build an apartment programme which has multiple operators across both a market and a region, and potentially globally as well, and have one booking method for that. Options are available today and that’s what we are looking for the industry to deliver for


us,” Carr says. UBS is, however, limited to Bridgestreet’s partners and cannot dictate its own supplier requirements. “Even if we could do that, we would


have to funnel all our bookings through Bridgestreet. We would rather have an independent platform that wasn’t associated with an agent and that’s not available today,” Carr says. “We are moving to a new booking tool – Amadeus Citric – and we’d love to have all the apartment content feeding into that so that our users could shop for hotels, apartments, aparthotels and Airbnb. “The booking tool is customer-led but the investment has to be made from a technology perspective,” he explains. “We


have tasked Amadeus Citric and Bridgestreet to talk to each other to find a way for the Bridgestreet content to come into Citric. “We need foundational changes and the sector to get operators to work together under the umbrella of an organisation to start making changes in how they source and how corporations or travel agents book,” he adds. “At the moment, it’s a bit of a free-for-all and that’s what we’re complaining about.” Other operators and agents are also tapping into multiple channels. SACO uses GDS and third-party sites, such as booking. com and Expedia. “We are now exploring sites that target specific geographical locations such as China, and vacation rentals


 


like Homeaway and The Plum Guide,” says SACO sales director Ben Harper. Clarendon has launched a dedicated website Clarendonbusiness.com. It says that improvements in apartment management software have accelerated the booking process, automated workflow and facilitated live, synchronised reporting across business functions from one system. Silverdoor plans to roll-out live availability, instant booking capability and build integration with the major channel managers.


Top: SACO Eden Locke, Edinburgh. Bottom: Ascott’s Lyf is designed and managed by millennials 


The sector is not standing still and with booking engines under development, an increasing number of new brands and operators, and changes in operating models all taking place against an uncertain economic background, the future can only promise interesting times.


 


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