SERVICED APARTMENT

A serviced apartment is a fully furnished and fully equipped apartment that provides amenities such as daily or weekly cleaning. Serviced apartments can be used for both short-term and long-term stays. Serviced apartments always come fully furnished and equipped. Serviced apartments come with all utilities and most of the times also with wireless internet and telephone connections.

Serviced apartments can be less expensive than equivalent hotel rooms, especially considering the fact that you can eat at home. Research shows that serviced apartments typically offer savings of up to 35% on traditional hotel accommodation. Since the beginning of the boom in cheap international travel and the corresponding increase in the level of sophistication of international travelers, interest in serviced apartments has risen at the expense of the use of hotels for short stays.

The benefits of staying in a serviced apartment are:

* a serviced apartment offers more space
* a serviced apartment offers more privacy
* a serviced apartment offers more freedom
* a serviced apartment offers more independence
* a serviced apartment is more cost effective, because not only a saving can be made on the cost of the apartment, also, because serviced apartments come with fully equipped kitchen facilities, there is no need to eat out all the time.
* a serviced apartment is more convenient, especially when traveling with a family, because the whole family can stay in one apartment and kids do not have to eat .
* a serviced apartment offers a home away from home, with all the modern conveniences you would expect.

The above benefits and criteria make serviced apartments an interesting and cost saving alternative to a hotel accommodation and as such we see a fast increase in the usage and preference amongst serviced apartment operators, travel agents and apartment bookers worldwide.

Following the above mentioned description of a serviced apartment, it is important to understand that there are various types of serviced apartments that can found in the corporate travel market. The term serviced apartment is widely used when referring to an alternative for hotel accommodation. That can be either a for short period of time or a long period of time. Both the leisure as well as the business traveler, uses serviced apartments these days. Not all serviced apartments are the same. We can make a few distinctions between different types of serviced apartment.

The first type is the extended stay at a hotel that offers a larger accommodation, also referred to as aparthotel. This type of serviced apartment offers a 24 hour reception desk, is most often located in a city center and provides a hotel like environment. The typical serviced apartment in such a hotel environment range from a serviced studio apartment, a one bedroom, two bedroom and a three bedroom serviced apartment. The studio serviced apartment is an apartment whereby there is only one room which is used as both living area and sleeping area with a little kitchenette and a separate bathroom added on. The one, two or three bedroom serviced apartments obviously offer a separate living area, a larger kitchen, one or more bathrooms and separate bedrooms. As serviced apartments offer kitchen facilities in the apartments, most extended stay hotels or apart-hotels often do not offer additional services such as a restaurant or bar.

The second type is the serviced apartment used a corporate housing facility. This type of serviced apartment is often a residential property which has been modified for short term rentals by adding services such as cleaning, utility charges, local taxes, telephone and television. This type of serviced apartment can be located in a city center, but is also often located on the outskirts of the city center with easy access to the main business areas and high ways.

All serviced apartment types always have in common that they are fully furnished and equipped. The important thing is that guests need enter a home away from home that provides cooking facilities and all modern conveniences such as stereo, DVD, CD player, washing machine, television, microwave, internet access etc. The fact that all serviced apartments offer a kitchen means that the client can opt for eating in instead of out, hence making an instant saving.

The serviced apartment idea originates in the USA. The influence of America on the global serviced apartment market remains huge. Around 80% of the world´s stock of serviced apartments is located in the USA.