The Business Travel Magazine April/May 2019

SERVICED APARTMENTS
At a time when
the retail world is
struggling, we continue to
come across conversion
opportunities as former
department stores come
onto the market”
BRIDGESTREET MODE
the wider development will add new life
to the town centre,” says co-founder of
Cycas, John Wagner, who draws parallels
with Cycas’s Holiday Inn/Staybridge Suites in
London’s Stratford, where guests benefit
from the Westfield shopping mall on the
doorstep and the hotels benefit from the
retail teams that visit the stores.
“At a time when the retail world is
struggling, we come across conversion
opportunities as former department stores
come onto the market,” he explains.
“We’re increasingly seeing that
incorporating hotels into mixed-use
developments and regeneration schemes
can help inject new life into town centres.”
Great technology, smaller rooms and
more focus on mid-term stays contrast with
reduction in average length of stay, possibly
reflecting a more cautious approach and
reduced confidence, thanks to Brexit.
The ‘B-word’ has also seen some
businesses holding fire on projects, pending
the outcome of the negotiations, and while
shorter lead times put on pressure, an
appetite for new brands (SACO's Locke, for
example) maintains the buzz.
Globally, Oakwood sees huge potential in
Africa, particularly the Nigeria-Kenya belt,
and like many in the sector is focusing on
emerging markets and key gateway cities in
Europe such as Frankfurt, Paris, Dublin,
Amsterdam, Geneva, Warsaw and London,
plus other UK cities.
And although many companies continue
to focus on cost, a worldwide upsurge in
growth markets is transforming the global
economy, leading to corporate demand for
extended travel and long-term relocation
programmes. In addition, “Multi-family
housing (US) or private rental sector (UK) is
of growing interest to developers,” says
TAS’s McCrow.
Access (Accor): Saclay, Montpellier.
Adagio: Paris, Lille, France; Casablanca,
Morocco; Bremen, Germany; Sutton, Leicester,
UK; Doha, Qatar; Jeddah (x2), Jizan, Saudi
Arabia.
Cheval Residences: London – Gloucester Park
reopens after a 20-month refurbishment.
Element: Frankfurt Airport.
Frasers Hospitality: Fraser Place Puteri Harbour
and Capri by Fraser Johore Bahru, Johor,
Malaysia; Fraser Residence Orchard, Singapore;
Fraser Suites Hamburg; Fraser Suites Akasaka,
Tokyo; Capri by Fraser Liepzig, Germany.
House of Fisher: Fleet Serviced Apartments, UK.
Native: Native Manchester, with openings to
follow in Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds.
Oakwood: The Oakwood Showroom, Singapore,
heralding the next generation of serviced
apartments; Oakwood Arlington, Virginia, US,
Oakwood Chicago River North, Illinois, US.
Oakwood Apartments, Sanya, China; Oakwood
These large residential buildings can be
compared to the mansion blocks in London
such as Chelsea Cloisters, Nell Gwynn House
or even Grosvenor House. They offer more
services than the typical residential landlord,
including bicycle stores, gyms, reception
desks with porterage, function rooms and
support services such as cleaning and highquality
concièrge.
“These will typically be long-term rentals
but this is a rapidly growing sector in the UK
specially,” explains McCrow.
More controversially, Cheval’s George
Westwood suggests the sector could
[ NEW BRICKS IN THE WALL ]
A selection of confirmed openings for 2019
Hotel & Residence Phnom Penh, Cambodia;
Oakwood Residence Hanoi, Vietnam.
Quest Apartments: Liverpool, its first location
outside Australia.
Roomspace: Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain.
Roomzzz: Harrogate, York and Liverpool.
Staybridge Suites: Heathrow Airport.
Staying Cool: Manchester.
Staycity: Wilde aparthotel, Edinburgh; Marne la
Vallée, near Disneyland Paris; Venice, Berlin and
Manchester follow.
SACO: Broken Wharf, London.
The Ascott Limited: Citadines Islington London,
UK; Citadines Sloterdijk Station Amsterdam, NL;
Citadines Confluent Nantes, France.
YotelPAD: San Francisco; London Clerkenwell,
Edinburgh, Glasgow, UK; Istanbul Airport;
Singapore Changi Airport; Amsterdam, NL;
Dubai Business Bay, UAE; Porto, Portugal.
• Space prevents a broader list of activity but
brace yourself for 2020…
become more relaxed in its approach: “We
will start to see a mixture of short- and longterm
stay, five-star and four-star properties
with common areas and a community
workspace such as WeWork all under one
roof. Consumers are driving this change.”
To cater for the demands of consumers
and the speed at which the market evolves,
operators and developers are going to have
to be nimble to keep up. Technology will
continue to play a major role in the industry
but service is also essential – robotic
vacuum cleaners may make customers smile
but robotic receptionists will not.
32 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.com