Often, the principal complaint from those who travel for business is that they see only the inside of airports and hotels. These are often rather sterile and characterless environments and do little to aid the well-being of those who are travelling. When you consider the reasons for business travel: often to represent a corporation or brand, perhaps to expand the reach or sales of an organisation, then surely the comfort and well-being of the business traveller are paramount. Perhaps this is a key reason that the industry surrounding serviced apartments has grown in recent years.
Comfort and Well-being
While most hotels do not lack comfort, it is rare that they can provide the same unique homely feeling that you will find in a serviced apartment. Unlike hotel rooms which consist of a place to sleep and a place to wash, serviced apartments contain all of the areas that you would expect in a home. Being able to utilise your own private kitchen and sitting room offers space and comfort during your non-sleeping hours and that means you can really wind down from a busy working day.
Business Budget
Often when booking a business trip, especially for numerous staff, a primary concern is meeting a budget. This often leads administrators to immediately discount serviced apartments due to their historical reputation as being more expensive to book for short periods. However, as the industry has expanded, it is marked how much more affordable the serviced apartment option can be. Consider, too, the budgetary benefits that the flexibility of a serviced apartment can offer. Without the need for restaurant dining every evening, the overall budget can even be cut.
Privacy & Local Contact
For groups of business travellers, perhaps visiting a conference or event, a serviced apartment can circumvent the struggle to find space to discuss aspects of the business informally. Creativity thrives away from formal structures, so you may find that the best ideas can be formed outside of the structured reason for your business trip. Lifestyle concierge services, within serviced apartment buildings, can offer extra support to business travellers to allow them to really experience an area, allowing them to have the option to enjoy a trip and potentially become more productive as a result.
Regular Visits
Perhaps your organisation’s needs are for short but regular trips. In this circumstance, a relationship with a serviced apartment can offer considerable benefits to a worker’s well-being. As well as the space, comfort and privacy that we know that a serviced apartment can offer, being able to return to a familiar environment on repeated occasions can take the strain out of business travel.
Long Trips
Often, and especially for the rocketing global tech and media world, the reason for a business trip is not for a trade event or conference but for longer-term onboarding activities. For around two to three weeks, workers can be based within a central city for the firm to orientate them in training and culture. Serviced apartments are on average 30% larger than a hotel room, so for those who are on a longer trip, this can make a huge difference to their comfort. It is important for those spending time away from home, who are likely to be missing their families, to benefit from the space, home comfort and flexibility to relax and decompress.
Choosing a serviced apartment over a hotel could simply be because it is more affordable within your corporate budget. However, in these times when the well-being of workers is recognised as something that can benefit the business itself, choosing a residence which offers the level of comfort that serviced apartments do has become very straightforward.