GSAIR 2023 16
Sourcing and usage
By Mark Harris Contributing Editor
Corporate usage of serviced apartments continues to grow across its three main source markets . Business travel and relocation are now joint top source markets for serviced apartments , with assignment work placed third .
As Fig . 1 and Fig . 2 show , 53.3 % of corporates say they are now using serviced apartment for business travel more than they were twelve months ago . 38.46 % report increased use for project or assignment work , which is unchanged compared to 2022 .
This should be seen in the context of external research which says 78 % of travel managers anticipate that their companies will make more business trips in 2023 . 5
As Fig . 3 and Fig . 4 show , TMCs and RMCs say their clients ’ use of serviced apartments is growing most for assignment work ( 63.64 %), followed by business travel ( 55 %) and relocation ( 43.48 %).
By comparison , in 2022 assignment work and relocation were both reported to be growing by 60 %, and business travel by 54.84 %. The YoY differential is likely to be due to the return of business travel to near prepandemic levels .
Despite 57 % of businesses allowing employees to add leisure time to their business trips 6 and 45 % of hotel guests intending to add a leisure element to business trips in the future 7 , our survey showed that just 5.26 % of corporates are currently using serviced apartments for bleisure trips .
“ We utilised apartments quite heavily during the pandemic through our safe passage programme . Our crews needed to get to certain locations for ships , refineries , or oil rigs , so we used serviced apartments for quarantine provision , and as medical centres because of their flexibility . That traction has continued post-pandemic .”
A travel manager in the entertainments sector agrees . “ Pre-pandemic we only used serviced apartments for relocations or the occasional long stay . During the pandemic we started using them extensively because we were still making movies and TV shows , and serviced apartments kept our crew and actors away from contact with others .”
“ Since the pandemic , people are continuing to use serviced apartments because their perceptions changed from needing a full-service hotel .”
Assignments and relocation
88.89 % of corporates report no change in their use of serviced apartments for relocation YoY , compared to 52 % who were using more serviced apartments for the same purpose in 2022 , against the previous year .
In 2022 60 % of TMCs and RMCs reported that serviced apartment usage was growing for relocation and assignment work , rather than business travel . This is most likely due to surging demand for business travel during 2022 which has slowed in the first months of 2023 .
Business travel
Increased demand for serviced apartments for business travel is directly attributable to the pandemic , as Richard Eades , Global Category Manager ( Travel , Meetings & Events ) at bp explains .
5 . 2023 CHPA Trends & Forecast for the Corporate Housing Industry Report 6 . Forbes - https :// www . forbes . com / sites / benbaldanza / 2023 / 04 / 05 / bleisure-travel-is-not-new-but-it-certainly-is-now-morerecognized /? sh = 520af284452f 7 . Crowne Plaza - https :// digital . ihg . com / is / content / ihg / CP-Blended-Travel-White-Paper