Serviced apartments becoming more corporate?

Serviced City Pads have been involved in the serviced apartment booking industry for more than 2 years. It is clear that the industry is moving at quite a pace and becoming a much more professional industry. Two cities were this is becoming clearer than ever are Manchester and Liverpool. It was only two and half years ago that the serviced apartment industry in Liverpool was dominated by small apartment operators who managed only a hand full of short stay apartments. At the time, Liverpool presented a good opportunity for small apartment operators as there was an obvious lack of hotel beds in the city. Demand for accommodation was much higher than supply, and this became even more obvious during the European city of Culture year in 2008.

Of course there is room for such operators in any market, as long as they provide a good quality service and operate as a professional business. Things have changed since 2008 and a number of the smaller operators no longer exist.

So what has changed? Well, the market has become much more competitive with the addition of the Bridgestreet at Liverpool One serviced apartments, Staybridge Suites, the expansion of L3 Living and Stay Liverpool operation in the docks and Liverpool city centre. There have also been a number of new Liverpool city centre hotels that have recently been built including the Hilton and Novotel. 

Whilst demand for accommodation remains high, the extra supply of beds has meant that pricing has been squuzed down. The larger accommodation companies can manage this; if you only have 2 or 3 serviced apartments then managing price down becomes much more difficult as there are no economies of scale.  

Additional beds in Liverpool can only be a good thing for the consumer. Additional choice and a better product, whether that is for Liverpool hotels or serviced apartments in Liverpool.

I would say that as the serviced apartment industry in Liverpool has become increasingly dominated by larger providers that the offering has become more corporate. This is clearly a positive step as companies such as Serviced City Pads book more and more company workers into serviced apartments. It is also good new for those company workers, usually project workers who are working away from home who now have a distinct choice from staying in a hotel – something they generally would prefer not to do for more than a couple of nights. A corporate serviced apartment option offers more space and better value for the company. The processes of the large serviced apartment providers is more akin to those of a hotel (as opposed to a small apartment operator) and these are the processes that the company is usually more comfortable with.

Overall, the blossoming of the serviced apartment industry in Liverpool can only be a good thing for the consumer. Pricing of accommodation will find it’s natural level as demand is balanced against supply; and industry standards will increase. Like in other developing industries, we are bound to see that the only the fittest will survive and prosper, with the winner being the guest – corporate or otherwise.

If you are interested in booking corporate accommodation call Serviced City Pads on 0844 335 8866. We will be delighted to help.