FEATURE
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APARTHOTELS
The Rise of Aparthotels
Serviced apartments and aparthotels are one of the fastest growing segments within the hospitality
sector. LEWIS CATCHPOLE hears from those within the industry on what is driving this rapid growth
and what the future of the sector may look like
T
wo years ago the Association of between work and leisure as another driver
Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) of growth. ASAP worked with the Corporate
and property agents Savills found Housing Providers Association, an American
that serviced apartments and aparthotels trade body, and together they engaged a
made up 3% of the hospitality sector. In an ‘futurist’ - a scientist that systematically
additional study to be released in the next six explores predictions and possibilities about
months by the pair that number is expected the future - who predicts apartment living
to have doubled to between 6% and 7%. “It is is going to “continue to grow and grow and
most definitely a time of growth,” says ASAP grow”. “This is because people will be able to
chairman James Foice. “In the UK there are work from different locations without having
some challenges to come in regards to Brexit to be tied to a specific point and the overlap
and the complications that come with that, with business travellers and leisure travelers
but If we can get over the next six to eight will continue with the flexibility of life which
months than we will have an idea of what is will increase demand on the serviced
coming. Overall however we are not seeing
any shortage of investment into the UK that
Guy Nixon
apartment world,” adds Foice.
Nixon concludes that the main driver
Guy Nixon was a former banker, a role in growth is the conversion between the
in which he spent many nights in hotels number of business and leisure travelers
as a fully furnished apartment available around the world. His experience gave him who stay at aparthotels. “It used to be
for short-term or long-term stay, providing the idea for accommodation that suited the very much dominated by longer staying
hotel-like amenities such as room service, needs of an extended stay traveller. “I found corporate guests, so our average length of
housekeeping, a fitness center, a laundry at the time there was not really anything stay three to four years ago was a couple of
room, and a recreation room. But, says Foice, out there like this, so I set it up and in the months, today our average length of stay
the definition varies from country to country. early days we were very much a corporate- as it has becomes better known in the B2C
“We all go back to the definition of what a based business. All our clients were market is five or six nights, which is a huge
serviced apartment is and it is tricky as we corporate and they were asking to house shift. We also have now hit around 70%
don’t all agree on it globally. In the States it is their staff who are travelling for between business and 30% leisure guests.”
a corporate housing product, but over here three and five nights a week, throughout it is everything in between. In Germany [for year. That is what has really driven the hotel stay is 1.8 nights in London so
example] they call it ‘boarding houses’.” business,” says Nixon. we are 3-4 times longer than a typical
is for sure.”
A serviced apartment is generally defined
Foice believes the serviced
One of the key advantages of the
He continues: “I believe the average
hotel but it has become a real transitory
apartment product “fits on a spectrum of aparthotel is flexibility for the extended stay accommodation option as well as a longer
accommodation”, with the branded hotel traveller. Foice believes that when guests stay option.”
product at one end, and at the other a are staying for a longer period of time they “residential bias”. Serviced apartments are are looking for more space and the option to INFLUENCE OF AIRBNB
“in the middle, overlapping both”, he says. stay in and use the kitchen already in their Interestingly both men think the shift to a
room. This was a particular “driver for growth slightly more leisure-oriented market was
in the early days”, he says. influenced by the rise of the home-sharing
WHY THE SUDDEN GROWTH?
Before becoming the CEO of serviced
apartment and aparthotel provider, Native,
20
www.hotelowner.co.uk
Foice also sees the way technology
has allowed for the blurring of the lines
platform Airbnb. Nixon feels the platform’s
growth has been a “real advantage” for
November 2018