BEYOND ROOM SERVICE.With short-term overseas stays on the rise for executives, Lisa Freedman finds rooms that are part flat and part hotel.
The service-term apartment is a hybrid, part hotel and part apartment, where services are supplied, as in hotels, at varying levels. Like hotels, they offer freedom from the tyranny of utility bills and maintenance, and most provide daily or weekly cleaning. Unlike hotels, however, residents have their own kitchen, living-room, front-door key and telephone number. Also, they can leave their belongings in place and have people to stay. With prices between those of a hotel and a conventional rental, their primary advantage is flexibility of time-scale. Although some London boroughs may insist on a minimum stay, most providers can offer weekly or daily accommodation. Serviced apartments have long been around, but primarily for tourists. It is only since the lаte 1980s, with globalization, that they have acquired a business-related emphasis. Now it would appear, they offer an increasingly attractive option, where accommodation can be booked at short notice and costs can be calculated in advance and factored into budgets. "It is also easy to know what you're getting," says the director of John D. Wood's short-term lets department. "We've just let five flats in one block to one company. They had a virtual tour and showed me flat to everyone on the team. Everyone could be in the same place." With service apartment, companies needn't worry about inventories or the bureaucracy of rates and bills. And-these apartments — partially under the influence of American providers, such as Oakwood and Bridge Street who moved into the market in the 1990s — can offer international level of service, with underground parking air-conditioning, 24-hour concierge, gyms and busines centres. For the roving executive, service flats also supply a more relaxing base than a hotel. Matrin Hazell, managing director of Hazell Marin Services, a marine insurance company based in Greece, comes to London on business for at least one week every quarter. "I've been using The Creechurch, in the heart of the city, for about five years for stays from a few days to two weeks. There is a lack of hotel accommodation in the area and this is much more like being at home. There's a fax and an answering machine, and a washer and a dryer, and you can be independent." Like the hotel trade, the service-apartment industry has a luxury and middle market, and certain providers offer different brands for each sector. It is the upper middle-market that is likely to benefit most from the growth predicted by Cendant Mobility, a relocation company. "We intend expanding to 2,500 units in the next five years and moving into key cities in Europe, which are currently not at all well served." Indeed, if the concept is rare in Britain, it is almost nonexistent in the rest of Europe. Most providers have seen- London, with its significant transient business population, as the gateway to Europe and have set up there first. And though France has some three-star apartments, aimed primarily at tourists, and Germany has its Comfort Inns, three-star, business-oriented apartments, neither really offers the comfort expected by the modern chief rapidly, there is quiet confidence at the top end. The Gheval Group is a five-star provider, with locations such as Kensington, Chelsea and the City. Launched in 1984, it was one of the earliest into the market and is growing steadily. Accommodation opening just off Sloane Square at Christmas will bring its total provision up to 175 flats. Cheval's market is the chief executive, requiring a worry-free environment. "They don't have to worry about looking after their life, and their families can feel secure and cared for, so the executive is more productive," says Cheval director Tony Harding. "Service apartments offer greater privacy and security than a hotel, with no maintenance problems. Our apartments have CCTV coverage, a concierge and a maintenance team. There will never be a need to deal with the dreaded British plumber." Plumbing aside, what about the cost? As one might expect, service apartments are more expensive than the weekly rate for an equivalent six-month let, though they tend to work out at about 25 per cent less than a hotel of a similar standard. In most, the longer you stay, the less you pay-Martin Hazell, for example, pays £150 a night for a two-bedroom apartment in the heart of the City, compared with £180 for a single room at a nearby hotel. "If I stayed for 30 days or longer the cost would go down again, and a service apartment is much more comfortable and convenient."
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