The Business Travel Magazine April/May 2019

SERVICED APARTMENTS
long-stay discounts and details for
anyone looking at 28 nights or more,” says
Managing Director, Trine Oestergaard.
Also seeing an increase in online bookings
of 28 nights or more, both direct and via
OTAs, is SACO. This is partly due to
improvements in direct booking platforms
and because shoppers are becoming more
comfortable with larger online spend. On
the B2B side, the industry is trying to bring
longer-stay business such as projects,
relocation and secondment bookings online
to help meet more demanding SLAs.
“This is in its infancy but could grow
substantially as booker/guest generation
become more millennial,” says SACO’s
Barton. “Part of this is also influenced by
travellers’ being given more freedom – for
example, given a budget and told to book
what they want, rather than being
constrained by managed travel programmes
that dictate preferred suppliers and are
bound by traditional norms.”
Jo Layton, Director of Bloom Mobility
Consulting and Corporate Apartment
Programmes Worldwide (CAPWW), agrees:
“Corporate clients are definitely seeing the
benefit of accessing availability and online
booking for travellers in the long stay space.
But there are barriers, she adds: “In many
global locations a signed lease is required
by the operator for the unit. Whether this
lease is signed directly by the traveller or on
behalf of the traveller, this requirement can
quickly halt the opportunity of a fully online
global programme and can prove expensive
if not managed correctly.”
Meanwhile, Adagio’s new internal data
system records guests’ preferences and
NATIVE
Apps offering
concièrge services,
24-hour chat, booking engine
capability and other functions
such as food delivery are
extremely valuable”
makes them accessible to all properties,
allowing hotels to prepare personal touches
before guests arrive. And Oakwood is
undertaking a three-year digital
transformation, which includes the next
generation of accommodation management
tool ‘epic’, a recently launched mobile app
and oakwood.com. Meanwhile, a
partnership with TravelClick will deliver
greater streamlining with fewer points of
contact on the reservations platform, realtime
booking and more transparent pricing.
New world order
The growth of dual-branded properties and
having to meet the needs of ever-more
demanding clients are two of the biggest
trends in the sector.
Adagio has noted a contradictory approach
from guests – calls for relaxation and yet
more connection, for more personalisation
and more privacy, and the desire to live like
LOCKE
locals while sticking to their usual habits.
The brand will be launching premium
apartments and has just initiated a
breakfast that combines a hearty buffet in
situ or an Adagio-to-go service that is picked
up from reception.
SilverDoor has opened its Americas
headquarters in Denver, Colorado. “With
offices in the UK, US and Singapore, we are
now able to offer our clients a 24-hour
global account management service,” says
Commercial Director, Stuart Winstone.
Meanwhile, Native recently achieved an
‘Excellent’ BREEAM sustainability rating for
Native Bankside, illustrating the company’s
commitment to cutting its carbon footprint.
Dual-branded properties continue to
provide complementary services, with
shared investment cost for brands, bigger
ROI for investors and consolidated back-ofhouse
operations delivering savings of up to
15%. At the same time, guests get more
choice and increased opportunities for
earning loyalty points.
Developments include Paris Hyatt Place/
Hyatt House, which is under construction at
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (2020).
Holiday Inn in Cardiff will be refurbished
and gain a 75-unit Staybridge Suites and
Moxy/Residence Inn opens in Slough
alongside residential apartments.
“It’s easy to see how Moxy’s bar will appeal
to locals as well as hotel guests and how
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