Make Yourself At Home

No longer just ‘hotel alternatives,’ serviced apartments are redefining themselves as ‘flexible lifestyle stays’

- Tamsin Cocks & Harvey Chipkin

Awareness, accessibility and adaptability are changing the landscape for the extended stay lodging market. Comparing all kinds of longer term lodging is easier than ever. Booking for products like corporate housing and various extended stay accommodations are transforming to keep up with changing travel patterns and demographics.

For serviced apartments, extended stay properties and other long-term counterparts, the big advantage has always been that almost everyone wants more space and a kitchen at the same price as a hotel room. Through shared economy options like Airbnb, millions more travelers have been exposed to the idea of staying in an apartment while on the road.

These are heady times indeed for the extended stay segment. According to hospitality consultants The Highland Group, “Remarkably at this stage in the cycle and with more than 450,000 extended-stay rooms now open, demand growth in 2017 was one of the highest we have ever reported.”

Those numbers are reflected in the success of top brands. Example: Adrian Kurre, global head of Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites by Hilton notes that those two brands, combined with Embassy Suites by Hilton will soon reach a total of 1,000 locations globally.

The growth offers broader choice: classic, “American-style” extended stay as provided by mega-brands like IHG, Hilton and Marriott; serviced apartments now easier to find and book through options like the BridgeStreet and MyKey platforms; or sites like Urbandoor serving as “agnostic” sources of housing.

As awareness of all extended stay products grows, the muddle between extended stay, serviced apartments and corporate housing is becoming less important. It’s becoming clear that, as Sean Worker, CEO of BridgeStreet, says, “They’re all accommodations.”

HOMEWORK