New to the Capital
THE Capital Hotel Group
opened its first Cape Town
hotel, The Capital Mirage,
in November. Situated in
trendy De Waterkant, it has
65 rooms comprising fully
serviced luxury and superior
studios, as well as one-,
two- and three-bedroom
apartments.
There is a choice of three
restaurants, a bar with great
city views, a spa and hair
salon, The Gin and Snooker
Library and a swimming
pool and gym.
The Capital on Bath in
Rosebank, Johannesburg,
offers 142 standard hotel
rooms, luxury executive
suites and apartments with
one to three bedrooms.
A spacious fitness centre
overlooks a pool. There’s a
large garden with space for
soccer and cricket activities.
Complimentary services
include high-speed WiFi,
laundry, parking and
shuttles to the Rosebank
Mall and the Gautrain
stations.
Business travellers want
a ‘home away from home
DEMAND for serviced
apartments is growing
globally. In Europe there’s
been an explosion – the
number of apartments has
jumped by over 80% in the last
two years – and it is estimated
that there are now over
105 000 apartments in over
1 700 locations. Industry
experts predict a further 50%
growth in facilities over the
next two years.
BridgeStreet Global
Hospitality, a family of six
brands in the serviced
apartment arena well known in
the Americas and EMEA, has
identified a travel trend among
travel professionals that it
dubs the “digital nomad”
lifestyle. In a poll of 30 000
global professionals that
it conducted, 83% showed
a preference for serviced
apartments as their working
headquarters while on the
move, enjoying the benefits
of home along with traditional
hotel amenities.
The freedom, space and
self-catering facilities offered
by serviced apartments were
favoured over exotic beaches
and busy coffee shops. Digital
nomads liked the fact that in a
serviced apartment they were
not bound by hotel rules, could
entertain as they wished,
eat when they wanted to and
could stick to diets or nutrition
plans. The serviced apartment
is also suited to the increasing
blend of business and leisure
(‘bleisure’) that characterises
much of today’s business
travel.
Growth in SA
Growth of the trend in South
Africa appears to be more
measured, although there has
been a significant increase
in serviced apartments in
Sandton – Johannesburg’s
second, and still developing,
CBD. A company that
has recently contributed
substantially to the sector is
The Capital Hotel Group, which
has five properties in Sandton
and a sixth under construction.
The group also opened a
property in Cape Town in
November; one in Rosebank,
Johannesburg, in December
and is building yet another
at Menlyn in Pretoria. Gillian
Kapotwe, head of marketing,
says future expansion plans
include 11 properties in the
sub-Saharan market.
Capital apartments offer
fully equipped kitchens, dining
areas, lounges and, in general,
more living space than the
average hotel room.
Also well known in Sandton
is Legacy Hotels & Resorts,
which operates the DaVinci
Suites, Michelangelo Towers
and Raphael Penthouse
Suites. According to marketing
co-ordinator, Candice
Morawitz, building will soon
begin on a fourth Sandton
property, Leonardo, on Maude
Street.
All Legacy apartments
are fully serviced, link into
Sandton’s central shopping
centres and malls and are
within walking distance of
the Gautrain station. A full
concierge service is offered as
well as complimentary return
transfers within a 2km radius
of each property.
Serviced apartments also
offer rates that compete
favourably with traditional
hotels, meeting the goals
of travel procurers. Gillian
puts the saving at up to 25%
compared with a hotel room,
when space and amenities are
compared. Candice says the
longer the stay, the more costeffective
the rate and ancillary
services such as laundry are
also less expensive.
What about policy?
apartments is increasingly
becoming a part of travel
policy, says Alastair
Dickenson, client business
manager at Wings Travel
Management. This is
especially the case for
employees being moved to
different locations within
their company.
“For example, an employee
moving for a year or more to
a different location would be
entitled to stay in a serviced
apartment for one to two
months while longer term
housing is finalised. Those
placed on projects for three
months might spend the
whole time in a serviced
apartment,” he says.
The mode of accommodation is also
becoming more popular
for shorter stays. “We are
now seeing more transient
passengers, especially
those travelling regularly
to the same city, using
apartments,” comments
Alastair.
Moreover, serviced
apartments are able
to provide secure
environments and fulfil the
corporate’s duty-of-care
obligations. Alastair says
industry standards are
being introduced to ensure
safety and security of
guests by bodies such as
the Association of Serviced
Apartment Providers (ASAP),
which has a membership
spanning nine countries,
all adhering to a Code of
Conduct.
The serviced apartments
sector in the rest of Africa
is still rather small, an
anomaly when the demand
for extended-stay facilities
is significant, especially
considering Africa’s distance
from its markets on other
continents. Very few
international brands have
delved into Africa’s serviced
apartment segment, and
many existing facilities
are owner-operated
conversions from residential
developments.
Experts say that while an
increasingly mobile global
workforce will continue
to boost the serviced
apartment sector, the
millennial generation’s
thirst for travel is boosting
demand even further.
Alastair agrees that
millennials are part of
the reason for growth but
also puts the popularity of
serviced apartments down
to a general maturity and
development of the sector.
TMCs that historically
booked hotels only, are now
much more involved with
serviced apartments. The
same is true of the travel
buying community.
DIY on the rise
“We are seeing a greater
number of requests for
more kitchen appliances
such as blenders,” says The
Capital’s Gillian Kapotwe,
noting that people are
eating more healthily
and want to take time to
actually prepare healthy
meals. “Also travellers and
bookers are more priceconscious
and shop around,
therefore bookings through
online travel agents are
becoming more significant
because of the ability to
compare prices and ease
and speed of booking. Fast
and free Internet is now an
expectation for business
travellers,” she adds.
The practicality of the
room layouts and ease of
use is definitely important,
notes Legacy Hotels and
Resorts’ Candice Morawitz.
“The booking process must
be simple and the service
must be perfect on a daily
basis – there is no room
for error as it is a very
competitive market,”
she says.
Global trends – facts
and figures
The US remains the
largest market for
serviced apartments,
accounting for almost
60% of the world’s
extended-stay units.
Marriott Worldwide was
the leading serviced
apartment operator
by number of units in
2014. Also in the top
five were Extended
Stay Hotels Group
(USA); InterContinental
Hotels Group; Oakwood
Corporate Housing and
Hilton Homewood/
Home2Suites.
Occupancies at serviced
apartments are
outpacing occupancies
in traditional hotels.
From January to August
2014, London’s serviced
apartments recorded
an average occupancy
of 83,2% compared
with 81,9% for hotels.
In Sydney, apartment
occupancy reached
87,5% compared with
83% for hotels. In Dubai,
the figures were 78%
and 77,4% respectively.
IHG, Hilton and Accor all
offer serviced apartment
brands, namely
Staybridge Suites,
Homewood and Adagio
respectively.
A number of serviced
apartment operators
now offer different subbrands
within the sector
to cater for different
lifestyles.
A growing trend among
developers is to locate
serviced apartments in
the same buildings as
hotels. Costs are then
saved, as functions
such as housekeeping,
laundry, security and
maintenance are
shared.
Source: Global Serviced
Apartments Industry Report
2015/16, The Apartment Service
Worldwide
