Serviced Apartments:
T
here is never a shortage of new apartment openings to cover in the sector. Press releases from around the world announce new openings of gorgeous apartments and residences, as well as compact and purposeful
studios in exotic locations, but what does this mean for the employer market? At its most basic level, business travellers, relocating employees and those on international assignment need somewhere to stay wherever they are going. With the growth of the serviced apartment and apart-hotel industry
around the world, staying in this flexible accommodation offers more space and better amenities than a hotel, is better value for the employer and gives the employee a ‘home away from home’. Add to the equation a convenient location, plus the ability to balance timetable, lifestyle and work-schedule demands – serviced apartments are a perfect fit. Even though the employee can be tens of thousands of miles away
from the office and their family and friends, this type of short-term accommodation allows them to feel as connected as they wish to be, thanks to state-of-the-art technology in the property, an increase in shared spaces and helpful pointers about what is going on in the neighbourhood for guests to enjoy during their stay.
THE RISE OF THE GUEST EXPERIENCE This is all good news for the sector because companies are currently embracing the concept of employee experience more than ever before. Read the evidence for yourself in this issue of Relocate and recap on the coverage of Relocate’s Festival of Global People. The quest for better employee experience very closely aligns with the serviced apartment sector’s preoccupation over recent years with the ‘guest experience’. This is also well documented across the entries for Relocate’s Best
Te guest experience opportunity
Serviced Apartment Provider Award, including global winner SACO’s focus on connecting with clients on a human level and taking care of assignees, which includes the introduction of well-being and cultural initiatives. Global talent shortages across countless industry sectors, a huge
Citadines Islington
change in markets and the increase of international collaboration on projects and complex supply chains mean that employers need to retain highly skilled and expensive talent. These professionals expect a smooth transition to their accommodation, which is safe, secure, convenient and trackable in the same way they expect their travel, immigration and tax and compliance information to be delivered by a mobile device on the move. Most international employers now manage global mobility by
providing access to portals where the employer, relocation professional and employee share information and regular updates. There has been a huge growth in such technology and HR software development is in the final throws of joining up the dots to include all aspects of managing an international workforce, including the complexities of assignments and business travel. Expectations are high and systems are expensive.
INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY The serviced apartment sector is also investing hugely in technology. At the recent Serviced Apartment Summit, a vision of automated service delivery where facial recognition provides access to your apartment or a robot delivering a replacement iron is not far off. As the new Serviced Apartments 2025 innovations in technology report compiled by Travel Intelligence Network (TIN), sponsored
40 | RELOCATE | AUTUMN 2019
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