Serviced Apartment Industry Sees Promising Opportunities in 2024
Despite political and economic uncertainty, and fears over its impact on British industries, the serviced apartment industry looks forward to a positive 2021 considering the current uncertainty. Operators across the UK & Ireland are planning new developments and offering great properties at and rates for Companies working on projects from January 2021 in national and international locations, indicating positive forecasts for the year ahead.
One potential reason behind the sector’s buoyancy is the fall in the value of the pound, which swayed UK residents to plan staycations and city breaks rather than holidaying abroad. This led to a surge in investment in the British tourism industry – good news for hospitality suppliers. Accommodation providers also benefited from an increase in international tourists making the most of favourable exchange rates and visiting UK cities.
The corporate market has experienced marked growth over the past twelve months thanks to an increase in travel managers regularly using sharing economy providers, such as booking agencies, in their travel policy. In 2016, only 8% of travel managers used interrupters. This figure has risen by 250%. This has been partly put down to travel managers striving to give travellers a more personalised offering.
Increased competition and investment in properties leads to an upward spiral in the corporate market, too. Travel managers and business travellers have more choice than ever, and more and more companies are switching from hotels to serviced apartments.
With new openings and relaunches scheduled throughout the year in the country’s major cities – in both the North and South – 2021 looks to be an exciting growth year, for suppliers and clients alike.