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Service
Apartments- need of the hour! |
| The
travel and tourism industry has witnessed a massive
changeover in the expectations of foreign and Indian-origin
tourists, especially in terms of their demands for
quality lodging options as afforded by service apartments.
Service apartments-need of the hour-is a term coined
in relation to the growing demands for worthy temporary
accommodation and the lack of wide-ranging choices
for discerning clientele from various parts of the
globe. |
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| Who were the initial
takers for this radical concept in high-class hospitality?
Let's take a look: |
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The major part of bookings for the first lot
of service apartments in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune
and Delhi were made essentially by NRIs and foreigners,
for whom the concept of serviced apartment hinged
on the cost factor as well as the coziness afforded
by the high-class, service apartment launches.
Though many tag cost as a secondary factor, it
is an aspect given considerable thought nonetheless,
even as the luxuries and amenities offered to
guests by way of the service apartments matches
that of the fully furnished apartment: the zing
factor in service apartments brought by the combination
of these being the best of both worlds - home
and hotel!
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Sneak peek at top
choices in service apartments-the need of the hour-
and the names that meet this rising need! |
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Chennai,
in Tamil Nadu, boasts Star City, with six such properties
and a Rs. 22-crore serviced apartments complex on
Poonamallee High Road scheduled for 2007 opening.
This block has 60 apartments with their own kitchenette,
microwave, rice cooker and washing machine and it
is reveled, these amenities would be combined with
other star hotel facilities, including gym and pool.
Global Adjustments, Chennai, primarily into expatriate
relocation, bases its services on the needs of
expats looking for quality temporary accommodation.
Expanding the scope for service apartments facility
at Sriperumbudur, located on the telecom corridor,
GA proposed for the new lot to come up next to
the Nokia Special Economic Zone to house executives
who want to avoid the hassles of commuting. These
are intended to encompass needs for exclusive
lifestyles, padded with entertainment zones, landscaped
premises, work areas, kitchenettes and a grocery
store too!
Mumbai offers Taj Wellington Mews, Lakeside Chalet
Marriott Executive Apartments, the Grand Hyatt
Residences and the Grand Residences attached to
the Intercontinental in Mumbai with a total of
over 400 units. Best Western The Emerald in Mumbai
offers executive apartments in the three-star
category. Four Seasons, Pune, is yet another proud
badge-wearer of quality interim housing accommodation.
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Corporate living
and service apartment lifestyles: need of the hour
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Ernst
& Young housed 40 employees on a four-month
training program at Star City's three bedroom apartments
in Chennai, as cost of a star hotel would have been
prohibitive. A steady economy and the Indian IT
sector going great guns, a rising number of NRIs
and foreign businesspersons with a keen eye to the
future, are shifting bag and baggage to comfortable
lodging options provided by service apartments,
in order to begin their oversee business operations
in India. This segment is the major contributor
to the growing demand for service apartments in
India. |
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Future prospects
of service apartments: need of the hour and rising
steadily by the day! |
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There
is immense potential for the service apartment market
to grow due to the demands of the IT, ITes, BPO,
KPO, biotechnology and medical tourism sector. In
their expansion stage, business houses too, are
looking towards India for consulting and financial
services, infrastructure and telecom and service
apartments are the viable choice at least, during
the initial stages of corporate life.
The main need for service apartments today remains
a certain rationalizing of tariffs as there are
enough to suit the higher-end market but not enough
to turn worthy customers away from cost-effective
hotel discounted rates. Therefore, to have better
occupancy rates, service apartments need to offer
more than their 10-12 per cent difference in the
bottom line as compared to hotel prices since
their cost, nature and design of operations is
totally different and they need to meet the needs
for quality, interim stay for persons relocating,
traveling for medical, business or leisure trips
and thus the best negotiated corporate rates to
clients, allowing up to 25-40% savings off usual
hotel prices, will encourage stay with them.
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