26/01/2015
SERVICED APARTMENTS IN KERALA – This includes Furnished flats, Villas, Houses, studio Apartments for daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Studio apartments or 1 BHK, 2 BHK, 3 BHK flats in various residential complexes at all major cities of Kerala, offers an affordable alternative to staying in a luxury hotel. All apartments are with attached bathrooms, luxury furnishings, TV, fridge, modular kitchen, curtain works, washing machine, AC, swimming pool, gym, Cooking gas connection, 24 hours securities etc.
Types of serviced apartment
The term "serviced apartment" is used when referring to an alternative for hotel accommodation for short and long stay leisure and business travelers. There are however distinctions to be made between their different types:
First there is the extended stay hotel or "aparthotel." This type of apartment offers generally a 24-hour reception, is located in city centers, and attempts to give the guest a "home away from home" feeling, within a hotel-like environment. They range from budget to deluxe and room types range from studio apartments (one room which can be used as living area and sleeping area, a little kitchenette and a separate bathroom), to two or three bedroom apartments which offer a separate living area, a kitchen, one or more bathrooms and separate bedroom(s). Because of the availability of kitchen facilities in the apartments, extended stay properties and apart-hotels do not tend to offer any extra services such as restaurants and bars. There are of course exceptions to this rule, because there are a number of extended stay properties which have been built as an annex to existing four- or five- star hotels and the guests who stay in the apartments can make use of the hotel facilities free of charge.
Secondly we can distinguish corporate housing. These are residential properties which have been upgraded for shorter term rentals and packaged together with services such as cleaning, utility charges, local taxes, telephone and television, for stays of 30 days or more. They can be located in city centers, but more often than not they are located on the outskirts of the centre of town, with easy access to the main business areas.
What both these types have in common is that the units are all fully furnished and equipped and the guests will enter a home away from home, with cooking facilities and all modern conveniences such as television, DVD, internet access etc. Some are equipped even have luxury features such as European-style gourmet kitchens, generous closet space, full-sized washer and dryer, ceramic tiled bathrooms, oversized tubs, and high-tech wiring/networking capabilities. Having a kitchen means that the client can opt for eating in instead of out, hence making an instant saving. Other benefits of a serviced apartment include added space to work and play, more privacy and more comfort.
History
The serviced apartment concept was created in the United States, and the influence of America on the global serviced apartment market remains huge. Eighty-six percent of the world's stock of serviced apartments is still located there. Many, from origin hotel operators, which offer extended stay product, such as Marriott (Residence Inn, Execustay), Hilton (Homewood Suites) and InterContinental (Staybridge) have introduced their products worldwide. Next there are companies which only offer serviced apartments for more comfortable stays, such as Skyline Worldwide Accommodations Ltd, The Ascott Group and Frasers Hospitality, which have been rapidly expanding their offerings across the globe. Premiere Executive Suites is a Canada wide operator of serviced apartments. In the UK one of the first companies to offer corporate housing was The Apartment Service with their Room space Serviced Apartments and Executive Room space brands. In Australia Meriton Serviced Apartments leads the way with over 2,000 apartments self owned and operated.
The second Global Serviced Apartment Industry Report, which follows the report published last year, looks at the changing landscape of the global short term accommodation market in light of the economic recession which has gripped the world in 2010. The information in the report has been obtained following a survey of just under 3,000 serviced apartment providers worldwide.
The nature of serviced apartments mean the booking process can be more involved than booking a Hotel. Some serviced apartment operators require a damage or security deposit, others may want to charge for additional services such as internet and parking. A popular way to overcome these issues is to book through a serviced apartment agent. An agent makes thousands of reservations for clients every week and is able to guide the guest through the process as well as use their buying power to negotiate money off the standard nightly rate and/or the inclusion of additional services such as internet should they not be included as standard.
