"In our own apartments, we are converting the sitting room with TV into entertainment centre with large flat-screen TV, higher quality amplifier with cinema surround sound and wider scope to get connected to TV channels around the world. Our buildings appeal to multi-national players and it is not adequate to say we have got Sky, they want to be able to watch speedboat racing in the Gulf, for example." However, at the moment, it is difficult to find affordable packages and splitting the cost between flats in a block is not possible.

Ergonomic design and added value will mark out tomorrow's apartment, according to regional general manager for UK Ascott International Rebecca Hollants van Loocke. "There may be many more services built into the price," she says.

The bridge between hotels and corporate housing is provided by extended stay properties, a sector that is well established in the US but less so in Europe and the Middle East.Marriott Executive Apartments (MEA) has 16 outside the US and the first Staybridge Suites (IHG) opened in Liverpool in June, followed closely by their Cairo property. Vice president Staybridge Suites EMEA, IHG, John Wagner, also sees the emphasis moving towards more services.

"It was very much part of our research as we talked to customers that were in serviced apartments or extended stay lodging," he says. "They are willing to pay for more services and not willing to give up the physical features. That drove our product towards Staybridge Suites rather than condominiums and to come up a bit from where we were on price.

"We have deliberately tried to move towards the hotel end of the spectrum with facilities. People may take a lease on a building or flat if they know they are going to be there for six to nine months but our customers don't want to risk the deposit that is usually necessary for that," says Wagner.

Extended stay properties are already the norm in Asia. "Long-stay accommodation is more along the extended stay model than corporate housing, especially in South East Asia," says CEO for Europe and the Middle East for Frasers Serviced Apartments UK, Guus Bakker. "They are purpose-built, fully serviced apartments."