SERVICED APARTMENTS
Q&A: STEPHEN MCCALL
CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SACO INT E R VIEW
What attracted you to the serviced apartment industry?
I come from IHG, a big brand background, and over the years I started to see a divergence in what brands stand for and what they say they stand for. They have to keep growing to substantiate the level of investment in technology and the brand, so they adopt models like franchising and managing, and the minute you put your brand in the hands of someone else, you have no control over that brand or the experience. At its heart, the hospitality
brand is about the experience delivered on the ground, and that is provided by people. I joined SACO, a smaller, fast-growing business, because I wanted to be associated with brands that are genuinely distinctive.
What are your plans for SACO?
We are rebranding and changing the name of the company to Edyn. SACO is our consumer-facing brand for our serviced apartment business, Locke is our primary growth vehicle while our upscale serviced apartment properties are under the Edyn trademark. The point of Edyn is to underline our purpose and that is to provide soulful hospitality; we want to be a brand with depth, that cares what it says, that tries to offer something a little bit different. And we want people here to thrive – Edyn is about humanity and getting back to some fundamentals about how
136 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
WE HAVE FIVE
OPENINGS OF LOCKE NEXT YEAR
we treat each other. We have a phrase here, “get back into the garden”; the garden of Edyn is protected, it is safe with a little bit of temptation – we are trying to do something about that, hopefully without the punishment and being ejected at the end – but in the process, you might have eaten from the tree of knowledge…
Where next?
SACO’s serviced apartments business consists of 35 properties, predominantly in the UK. We also have an upscale serviced apartment offering with The Moorgate and The Wittenberg. We will look to expand those where we have an existing presence. Once Locke in Berlin opens, we might consider an upscale serviced apartment there. We have five openings of
Locke next year, three in London and two in Dublin, and we will be expanding at broadly that pace over the next few years. We want a Locke in every European gateway city, and we have a few deals close to finalisation.
can enjoy a proper meal if they do not have the time to cook up something fresh or go out for dinner.” And at its soon-to-open Citadines Islington London property, he adds: “There will be strong emphasis and focus on wellbeing throughout. Our one-bedroom apartment deluxe category will have a yoga mat, wellbeing book and meditation playlists.” Meanwhile, Adagio recently launched co-working spaces at its location in Edinburgh, which are open 24/7. “They need to know what your brand is
about and whether you are the right fit,” says Guy Nixon, chief executive of Native. Specialist insurer group Beazley is a case in point. “I didn’t even know serviced apartments existed until our TMC, Reed & Mackay, educated me,” says travel manager Simon Robinson. “I didn’t like sending travellers to somewhere I hadn’t vetted, and meeting a random person on a street corner to get the keys to a serviced apartment didn’t make me feel particularly warm and fuzzy. But as the serviced apartment world has developed, a lot of the negative perception of employer’s duty-of-care and keeping people secure has been quashed.” Reed & Mackay has seen an overall increase in client use and understanding of serviced apartments: “I know ASAP has done a lot of work to make that clearer and the rise in aparthotels has closed the gap between hotels and serviced apartments. They are flexible about length of stay and corporate buyers are on to the cost efficiencies as well,” says commercial director Angelina Bunting. Meanwhile, to remain attractive,
operators continue to push the boundaries. Native Manchester is opening with private dining, meeting rooms, event spaces, food and beverage – and a cinema.
A STRONG MARKET? However, on the back of increased supply, the serviced apartment sector in the UK is showing a small year-on-year downturn, with occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room down 0.1 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively. As well as new properties, in particular outside of London, “political adversity” has also impacted the sector, says Thomas Emanuel, director of data and analytics company STR. However, “there have been pretty strong levels of occupancy
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158
