What does booking a serviced apartment involve?

For both types of serviced apartment, as with hotels, the first stages of a non-GDS booking are initial contact by voice or e-mail; checking availability; confirming price and finally contracting. In extended stay, there is another stage - the guest's arrival. However in corporate housing the time scales involved are generally much longer because you are helping to find someone a home. There are potential lease issues to sort out and deposits to be paid.

In corporate housing there's less expectation of a fast turnaround, and quite often what will happen is that the guest will set themselves up in an extended stay apartment until they find the right place for the longer term. This process also allows the guest to be certain of the area and locale where they will be living.

What do I need to watch out for in a serviced apartment contract?

In many cases a stay of more than 28 days will require a formal tenancy agreement as the relationship between supplier and traveller is similar to a traditional rental; various government and local authority acts may also come into play. We often work with companies looking for multiple stays in different locations to come up with a standard set of rules, or 'umbrella' tenancy agreement which eases this part of the procedure.

Traditional buyers of corporate accommodation need to be conscious of pre-payment and deposit terms within serviced apartment contracts, again a sign of the closeness of, particularly corporate housing, to the regular apartment rental market as opposed to regular hotel procedures.

Can I integrate serviced apartments into my Management Information (MI)?

Yes - but to have any scope to utilise the data effectively, all the bookings need to go through a single channel. Human Resource functions have traditionally not tended to want extensive MI, unless it's for a specific project in which they need to show that they've achieved a saving over transient hotels. The role of MI in this context is to quantify the full cost of relocation.

With procurement becoming more involved in travel wanting to encompass all expenditure and taking a more holistic view, extensive MI covering all aspects of mobility will be more and more a requirement.

How does the traveller check in and collect the keys?

Most extended stay operators have 24 hour receptions, but as much of the corporate housing stock is residential in nature this is not always so in that sector. However there are other ways in which keys can be collected. As well as key safes in apartment blocks, keys can be delivered to the client or picked up at the city of destination, or a meet and greet service provided. Some companies send keys out by courier to each guest before they set out. It's all about attention to detail and ensuring that the guest has all the information he or she will need at the most convenient point of their journey.

And check outs?

Don't forget to post the keys through the letterbox!