SERVICED APARTMENTS
meant we could create a truly effective space. It’s not every day that a client allows you to use Rachel Whiteread’s Ghost House, Grayson Perry pottery, and Paul Smith suits as inspiration for their HQ.” Inside, a traditional ground-floor reception area has been
dispensed with in favour of an open-plan social hub that enables visitors to mix with employees as soon as they arrive and gain immediate insight to the philosophy and creative approach of Saatchi & Saatchi.
Airbnb joins the establishment? The bugbear for the serviced apartments sector in recent years has been the rise of disrupter Airbnb. However, the ‘bad boys’ are now integrating with the wider temporary accommodation proposition. In 2015, BridgeStreet embraced its potential competitor by introducing a partnership with Airbnb. Many providers upload their inventory to Airbnb when they have vacancies. We know that corporates with strong global mobility
compliance awareness, like Grant Thornton, signed up early with Airbnb for certain uses and demographics, and other corporates have followed. HR and global mobility specialists have to fight their cause in their organisations on the compliance and duty-of-care front. In the end, it is a corporate decision. Weighing up the risk factor is what organisations do across their businesses every day. However the disrupters are joining forces, and a new body, the
Short Term Accommodation Association (STTA), which may bring reassurance to some employers, has been launched. The STTA states that the UK’s sharing economy has been predicted to expand by more than 30 per cent per year over the
UNPICKING THE JARGON
Jo Layton, MD of group commercial sales at the TAS Alliance, emphasises the importance of demystifying the serviced apartments sector. For example, she explains, “When an operator becomes
an agent, this makes them a hybrid. Hybrids work as an agent in locations where they do not have their own inventory. They earn a commission or mark-up for making the booking.” Ms Layton warns, “Procurement will need to become
super-savvy to understand the potential risk of employing an underdeveloped, immature or inexperienced hybrid, agent or aggregator.”
next decade, generating £18 billion of revenue for platforms and facilitating about £140 billion-worth of transactions per year by 2025. The association has been launched to keep the public and politicians informed, particularly as the 90-day ruling has been confirmed. As the agenda unfurls, watch this space.
For the latest serviced apartments news and articles, see
relocatemagazine.com/serviced-apartments
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