The UK’s serviced apartment sector is set to grow

LONDON - Oct. 30, 2013 - PRLog -- As businesses have had to cope with smaller travel budgets they have increasingly looked to more cost-effective solutions to enable them to find suitable accommodation when in London, or to stay long term if they are relocating. Serviced apartments have become more and more popular compared with hotels offering a more flexible solution; prices are often cheaper over a longer stay while apartments tend to be larger with more amenities like a fitted kitchen. Not relying on restaurants or room service helps to cut expenses.

It is perhaps no wonder, then, that property advisor Savills predicts the UK serviced apartment has “significant potential.” The sector will expand, they say, with a wave of fresh investors. In the past the UK serviced apartment sector has lagged behind the US; the US sector totals £1,3bn and 12% of the country’s total hotel sales. In the UK investment is £123.5m, 5% of total sales.

The head of valuations at Savills predicts that the UK investment volumes could match the US in five years’ time. The US market is undoubtedly bigger, just as the nation itself is bigger so it is difficult to compare both countries without a caveat. Yet the US can suggest a model for the UK to embrace.

Investors already with a foot in the market say they are planning to expand their portfolios, to increase the number of serviced apartments they have on their books. If more businesses see staying in a serviced apartment rather than a hotel as the norm then demand increases and more properties are needed. This also is positive for business travellers; more apartments could lead to even cheaper rates in the future, making serviced apartments even more cost-effective.

This trend is welcome news for Clarendon Serviced Apartments as having launched 25 years ago in London they have seen the serviced apartment market become an increasingly recognised one in the UK. There has been increased brand awareness as people recognise the benefits that serviced apartments can bring like the extra space, the flexibility as well as the security compared with your standard hotel room. Having launched several new properties in 2013, including West Street, Clarendon is committed to expanding to keep up with consumer demand. Working exclusively in the sector, Clarendon have noticed trends and increasingly in the West End there is greater demand, hence why expansion has taken place in this area.