We return to the subject of the significant savings enjoyed by corporates that use extended-stay apartments and must again ask the question – ‘why don’t corporates make more use of them?’
Between the uncertain monetary times we live in and the general cost-cutting and belt-tightening that must be pursued in order to survive, there can be no doubt that universal price sensitivity towards goods and services being purchased by companies has slowly crept in.
Whereas before, some businesses have been more immune than others to the need for financial cutbacks, the necessity for cutting costs is now almost universal, with even the most resilient corporations now identifying areas where they can save money.
For executives abroad, the stay in an apartment will most certainly be less expensive than a hotel once it goes beyond a week. Research by the Hotel booking Agents Association (HBAA) found that if a stay is between a week and a month, the cost, on average, will be 20-35% lower than the equivalent hotel stay. Increase the stay to between one and three months, and you are talking of and average saving of 40%. And if you go beyond the 90-day mark, savings could be up to a staggering 50%!
This reduction arises purely and simply through the control of incidental costs that decrease the longer you stay. You have a washing machine and dryer, rather than having to use a laundrette. Your phone and internet bills are included. And perhaps the most noticeable saving, more so because it is an ongoing daily cost that you can’t but be aware of, is that of meal preparation.
Hotels are increasingly trying to find ways to stop guests going off-site for meals, not just for evening dinner, but sometimes even breakfast. Despite any special offers they may make, the cost will still be significantly more than that of preparing a meal yourself.
There is also the inconvenience, if you are an extended-stay resident, of the daily grind of having to abide by the restaurant dining rules, waiting for your meal if the restaurant is busy, or even sometimes having to share your table with a complete stranger. After a day at the office and perhaps constantly dealing with people throughout it, perhaps you’d really prefer some privacy to either read the newspaper or watch the television while you enjoy your meal!
Extended stay apartments have a fully-fitted kitchen with oven, hob, microwave and utensils, whereas an extended-stay hotel room will have, at most, a hob with limited utensils. So catering or entertaining, from a food point of view, is, in essence, an impossibility.
Another aspect, from a purely practical and comfort point of view is that apartments will have much more of a demarcation between kitchen and bedroom, and in many cases, both rooms will be separated by doors and completely independent from one another. If you do decide to cook something with an odour, it won’t seep into your bedroom and clothes.
Clarendon serviced apartments provide extra added value for the extended-stay resident. There is a regular housekeeping service that goes far beyond just making the bed and giving the bathroom a quick swirl!
Clarendon also take care of the rent for you and ensure all utilities are ready, willing, able and, most importantly, paid-for! As owner-managers, they are on hand should anything go wrong – not that much ever does – but there’s no contacting agents who have to contact third parties who may in turn then have to contact a further third party of their own. They make the decision there and then from your initial contact with them.
So the overarching message to corporations, in particular to their procurement divisions, is simply, research the accommodation if you plan to send an executive to London for an extended-stay. If you have any questions, just ask Clarendon! They will be more than happy to help and advise.
As far as corporations are concerned, it’s all about tactically combining cost reduction with cost avoidance, a bill that extended-stay apartments do fit admirably!