Serviced Apartments are one of the Anglo-American concepts that are becoming increasingly popular in this country and are one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. Business travellers, newcomers and tourists appreciate flexible temporary living for a variety of reasons. At this year's SO!APART trade event in Leipzig, the motto was "Big, bigger, visions!". Perspectives, prospects and future possibilities for serviced apartments and their guests were discussed. An insight into the status quo and trends of the serviced apartment world by Kristin Oberweger, General Manager PhilsPlace, and Klement Petzner-Gumbo, Resident Manager PhilsPlace.
What does living in a Serviced Apartment mean?
Are you still undecided what makes a Serviced Apartment special? The advantages are quickly explained: It is a fully furnished apartment that can be booked for short or long periods of time. In our case, we differentiate between shortstay and longstay accommodation, the second type is designed for stays of several weeks or months. The apartments are furnished like a normal apartment: You will find a fully equipped kitchen, dishwasher, coffee machine, washing machine and all necessary kitchen utensils. In addition, each room has WLAN and flat screens. The equipment aside, the enormous gain in space needs to be emphasized: Compared to a normal hotel room, apartments offer far more space and cosiness.
What is happening in the industry
The megatrend "individualization" is one of the central cultural principles of the Western world and is increasingly establishing itself as the "culture of choice" in affluent states. In many nations, the trend has now reached its temporary zenith and has become the basis of our social structures: It affects values, consumption and everyday life. Therefore, our segment will not remain unaffected by this development. The topic of community is moving more and more into the spotlight. Guests no longer want to work anonymously in a big city, but want to network and communicate with others. This is why spaces for living and working together will emerge in the future. Mixed-use concepts of this kind concentrate on co-working and co-living, in which digital nomads of tomorrow can exchange ideas with each other. It will be more and more important to recognize the needs of our time and to satisfy them, especially when it comes to the design of individual living and working concepts. Whatever your living space requirements, we will adapt to your needs and do our utmost to fulfil your wishes.
A concept from the USA is becoming more and more popular
Like many other trends, the concept of the serviced apartment came to us from overseas. Business travellers, expats, freelancers or newcomers use this flexible opportunity to move into a furnished apartment quickly and easily – all they need to move in is a suitcase. But this way of living is also suitable for private guests, especially in big cities where the housing market is naturally tense. The newly immigrated Viennese people can thus simply enjoy their own apartment and look for a permanent place to stay directly on location – a relaxed alternative to the tedious and stressful apartment search. Meanwhile many tourists discover this possibility for themselves and choose an apartment with the amenities of a hotel, because you can also feel at home in a foreign city.
How guests want to live in today's urban jungle
The mixture of one's own apartment and hotel services is becoming increasingly popular. Employees in the modern, international working world must be flexible and able to work from different locations – mobility and living without much effort are in demand. But serviced apartments are not only suitable for business travellers. Guest professors, artists, football players and craftsmen also enjoy the mix of apartment and hotel. Our apartments are fully furnished and equipped, whether for business stays or private guests: Large work tables for days in the home office and Smart TVs with all connections for relaxed film evenings after a strenuous day at work or after an extensive city tour. The apartments start at 31 m2 and offer plenty of storage space for clothes and all sorts of everyday objects to create a real feeling of being at home.
Apartments tailored for guests, not the other way round
When it comes to temporary accommodation, the individual needs of our guests are always at the centre of our attention: large, comfortable rooms that are ready for immediate move ins and the personal service we provide as a local host for Vienna and the surrounding area make us the ideal starting point for living and working in the city. In addition, guests want to enjoy all the amenities of sports, leisure and culinary delights. In our "Vertical Village" directly inside the building, which offers supermarkets and McFit in the house, no wish is left unfulfilled.
What convinced the jury about us
In the category "big and great" we were able to assert ourselves and were awarded with the best concept of the year in the whole German-speaking area. We would like to thank them once again! What particularly convinced the jury? On the one hand there are the special architectural conditions, because PhilsPlace originated from the former PHILIPS house, a "great architectural icon that almost everyone in the metropolis knows", as juror Heinrich Böhm, partner at JOI-Design, remarked in the laudation. Another factor is our "Vertical Village", which combines supermarkets and gym in one building. As far as the design of the apartments is concerned, "the designers did not rely on proven solutions, but on a lot of chic and 'cosiness' with convertible furniture", which adapt to the requirements of our guests.
Have a look for yourself!
During a coffee in our in-house VAPIANO we would be happy to talk to you about the possibilities of short- and longstay options in our house. Contact us, we look forward to hearing from you!
Source: zukunftsinstitut.de
Picture : ©JuliabaumgartPhotography