Hotels watch out. Asia’s serviced residence operators are seeing a surge in short-stay bookings, with one even launching a hotel-residence brand. By Linda Haden, Hong Xu and S Puvaneswary
From Top left: Capri by Fraser in Singapore; Far East’s Orchard Scotts Residences in Singapore; Savills Residence Century Park in Shanghai; Ascott Huai Hai Road Shanghai; Oakwood Premier in Manila
Frasers Hospitality
Tonya Khong
Area general manager, Asia Pacific
Jastina Balen
Director, group branding and communications
Q What do you think of the short-stay market?
We see an increasing number of requests from people coming on shorter stays. The market has a lot of potential to grow, particularly in cities where there is a rising influx of business travellers. Even for those travelling on leisure with a family or with girlfriends, a serviced apartment is appealing because of the communal living area. Key growth areas for our short-stay product include Australia, China, India and South-east Asia.
Q What is your product for the market?
Capri by Fraser is our new hotel-residence brand. Our newly opened Singapore property has a hotel licence and we will open in Ho Chi Minh City by the end of this year and Kuala Lumpur in 2013. Consumer research and input from existing properties highlighted that there was a gap in the market for a technology- and design-led serviced suite product for stays up to seven days.
Q What differentiates your product?
As a hybrid product, we offer guests complete flexibility and independence in terms of day-to-day living. Dry cleaning in hotels can sometimes cost an arm and a leg, so we give guests the option to do the laundry themselves while being entertained in our Spin and Play rooms. They also might not want to have room service or eat out all the time, so they can cook a meal in the privacy of their room or pick up TV dinners from our deli. Nonetheless, we provide all the services and amenities expected of an upscale hotel.
Q Why should travel consultants choose you?
We bring our expertise from the serviced residence domain and we try to find the best marriage by combining elements of a hotel with that of a serviced residence. We don’t have huge meeting rooms, but give the space back to guests in their rooms. Capri by Fraser offers a complete lifestyle, not just a room. Even though the concept is very much design-led, it is not overtly pretentious. Instead it was developed to be highly functional and has been tailored to tech-savvy young professionals.
Savills Residence
Neil Harvey
Director
Q What do you think of the short-stay market?
While our core business will always be longer-term stays of one month plus, we have seen a shift towards serviced apartments for weekly accommodation by business travellers. We have also seen a shift to the weekend market for domestic leisure travellers within China in first-tier cities.
Q What is your product for the market?
Many of our properties have, or will have, hotel licences. This gives us the option to secure more short-term business if the location dictates. However, our product and format will not change from that of offering serviced apartments under the Savills Residence branding.
Q What differentiates your product?As part of a leading residential leasing company within the region, we have been able to ascertain current and future requirements of longer-term travellers from different regions. This ensures our products and facilities match the requirements of the travelling market in varying locations. Our studies have shown that lighter interiors utilising natural finishes and details for ease of use – yet remaining totally functional – are considerations in addition to the norm of security, high levels of service and privacy.
Q Why should travel consultants choose you?
Service delivery levels at any Savills Residence are benchmarked against those of international hotels. However, due to the longer-term nature of the guests length of stay, we provide much higher personalised levels of service for residents. These may range from guest preferences within the apartment by ensuring the same housekeeping maids provide service, to weekly grocery shopping, flower deliveries and even updates of events happening within the city that may be of interest.
“There is definitely demand for a product that bridges the gap between serviced residences and hotels. Fraser’s move to put its first Capri by Fraser property in Changi Business Park is a smart one, given the multitude of multinational banks based there that need to house visiting employees from abroad. It is certainly a property we would consider for travellers staying for just one to two weeks.”
Janet Tan-Collis
CEO, East West Executive Travellers Singapore
Far East Hospitality
Spokesperson
Q What do you think of the short-stay market?
Despite the malaise in Europe and the US, strong intra-regional demand for both business and leisure travel has made the short-stay segment an area of opportunity. We see potential particularly from regional markets, especially from Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.
Q What is your product for the market?
Even though we do not have a specfic product or brand for short stays, we have a strong presence in the mid-upscale market with a diverse inventory that spans strategic locations across Singapore, offering short- and long-term accommodation catering to business and leisure guests.
Q What differentiates your product?
With nine serviced apartments, our extensive experience in the short-stay segment through our hotel operations and our brand of homegrown Singapore world-class hospitality, we believe Far East Hospitality’s serviced apartments offer a very competitive proposition for the short-stay segment. Even as we continue to strengthen our portfolio and grow our flagship brands Oasia, Village and Quincy, we have also been cultivating what we call ‘home-grown Singaporean hospitality’ across all of our operations, which will become our distinct personality and differentiator.
Q Why should travel consultants choose you?
Serviced apartments offer a more flexible and intimate home-away-from-home experience, unlike hotels which tend to have more ‘standard’ rooms and products. There is a much broader variety of apartment types, services and facilities, and range of locations on offer compared to hotels – the majority of which tend to cluster in or around the city core. We believe that this will appeal to increasingly travel-savvy guests, who tend to seek more personal experiences.
The Ascott
Tony Soh
Chief corporate officer
Q What do you think of the short-stay market?
Although most of our serviced residences focus mainly on expatriates and business travellers who stay for a month or more, our products and services are also very attractive to travellers on short stays, especially in key international gateway cities such as London, Paris, Singapore, Melbourne, Beijing, Bangkok and Tokyo.
From a broader perspective, Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world today. The high level of foreign direct investments in countries like China, India and Singapore will continue to generate strong demand for serviced apartments, including short stays.
Q What is your product for the market?
We believe in striking the right balance – having sufficient brands to target specific groups of travellers with unique needs and preferences, while avoiding too many brands that may be confusing. We already have three distinctive brands of serviced residences that are well-suited to the different lifestyle needs of travellers both on long and short stays.
Q What differentiates your product?
We hope to achieve this through our multi-million dollar refurbishment programme that is being rolled out in Asia and Europe. We have received very positive feedback for our refurbished properties. Through customer-centric initiatives and enhanced reservation and property management systems, we want to redesign the experience at each service touch-point, so that in every interaction with staff, guests will experience the unique Ascott touch that makes them feel at home.
Q Why should travel consultants choose you?
Today’s savvy travellers are increasingly looking for value and flexibility when choosing accommodation options. As opposed to cookie-cutter rooms, serviced residences provide the flexibility of sharing an apartment with individual bedrooms, more space, separate living and dining areas, and a well-equipped kitchen. More importantly, these features enable guests to still enjoy the familiar comforts of home while getting acquainted with the sights and sounds of the city.
Oakwood Asia-Pacific
Caroline Leong
Director of marketing
Q What do you think of the short-stay market?
There has been a marked growth as travellers, both business and leisure, are more aware of the benefits and value for money this type of accommodation provides. This increase is being seen all over Asia.
Q What is your product for the market?
All our three brands in Asia – Oakwood Premier, Oakwood Residence and Oakwood Apartments – accept short stays and provide housing for a wide range of customers who can choose according to their requirements and lifestyles. Most of our properties have no minimum length of stay and accept stays as short as one night.
Q What differentiates your product?
Oakwood properties are elegant in design and quality, with an international feel that makes any guest immediately feel welcome regardless of nationality. The apartments are spacious, fully furnished and fully equipped.
Q Why should travel consultants choose you?
The major benefit of staying, or putting up your client, at a serviced apartment property instead of a hotel is the living space. Travel consultants would be applauded for not getting their customers to cram into small hotel rooms but instead allowing them to enjoy actual living spaces like the living room, dining room and kitchen. This is most important for family travel where some of the conveniences of home need not be given up, such as cooking your own breakfast for the kids or washing their clothing.
“There is a growing demand for serviced residences from both business and family travellers for long and short stays. Companies sending a few staff on short-term overseas assignments find serviced residences more affordable compared to hotel accommodation. The cooking facilities also appeal to family travel, even if it is for a short stay of less than a week.”
Sharitha Rajendran
Travel consultant, Topaz Travels Malaysia
This article was first published in TTG Asia, September 21, 2012 on page 10. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.
Additional reporting from Hong Xu and S Puvaneswary
