The future of long-term stays

The extended stay segment is experiencing healthy growth, with design and community-focused brands leading the trend, alongside those championing sustainability

- HANNAH BRANDLER

Earlier this year I attended the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin, a three-day event for industry speakers in the hospitality world. There was a noticeable buzz around the extended stay segment, from serviced apartments to aparthotels and co-living properties.

This segment has grown in recent years, with a rise in demand prompted by hybrid and remote work lifestyles. Since the pandemic particularly, there’s a growing number of employees no longer tied to a fixed location who have joined the hunt for accommodation that suits long stays.

Hotel groups are understandably keen to get in on the action, launching their own extended-stay brands, while long-standing operators are expanding their footprint. There are also plenty of new entrants keen to push the boundaries of what an extended stay should encompass. Here we look at some up-and-coming brands and discuss the latest trends in the industry.

LIVELY DESIGN 

Serviced apartments and aparthotels are increasingly drawing inspiration from the lifestyle segment, steering away from the corporate tag and introducing playful design into their properties.

Dutch brand Zoku, which has properties in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Vienna and Paris (see our Tried and Tested review on page 78), certainly adds a fun element to the mix. For co-founder and managing director Hans Meyer, the long-stay accommodation market was missing a sense of adventure, character and creature comforts. “What I found was that a serviced apartment was a double-sized hotel room with a microwave, and a public space with a vending machine and that’s about it,” he says.