The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) is in the process of rolling out a quality assessment programme. Colette Doyle finds out what this means for PAs looking for an alternative to hotel accommodation
Serviced apartments have suffered in the past from something of an image problem. They have often been viewed as the poor relation to hotels and seemed hampered by a lack of proper recognition. Yet, it is undeniably an important sub-sector within the hospitality industry; in terms of spending patterns, one in every eight corporate travel buyers (equivalent to 13 per cent) booked serviced apartment accommodation last year, according to the findings of the Business Travel Show?s annual survey.
In fact, serviced apartments now account for more than 26 per cent of room nights for four per cent of buyers, and between 11 and 25 per cent of bookings for a further 12 per cent of buyers. Overall, 84 per cent of corporate travel buyers? accommodation programmes include up to 10 per cent of serviced apartment room nights.
ASAP has been at the forefront of change and has now launched a logo to accompany its quality assessment (QA) programme. The QA programme will allow all accredited members to display a kitemark that vouches for them having complied with key legal, health and safety requirements, as well as being a proponent of best industry practice. The programme focuses on a set of core requirements, such as having public liability insurance and a robust health and safety policy, and measures the success of their delivery (see the full list on the website at theasap.org.uk).
?Members recognise the importance of legal and statutory obligations, health and safety and that any property is accurately and appropriately marketed, and this provides a high level of confidence for guests booking a serviced apartment,? comments Managing Director James Foice.
He notes that the QA standard also has applications abroad and in fact a major serviced apartment operator in the Netherlands, Your Amsterdam Housing, as well as the Corporate Housing Providers Association in the US, both recently joined ASAP specifically to benefit from its rigorous QA initiative. In addition, Foice says he has been in touch with a number of booking agents, including Orbital Partnership, who wish to support the accreditation scheme by only offering ASAP-accredited apartments to their clients.
Inspection in action
ASAP?s new quality assessment programme is nothing if not thorough, reports Colette Doyle. As he walks me through the process, MD James Foice is at pains to point out that this is not about the facilities available but ?the quality of the guest experience?. ?The important thing to keep in mind,? says Foice, ?is that the property is marketed at the right level so as not to disappoint guests,? adding that it?s not about trying to get all members up to one uniform standard, but about meeting client expectation.
Scores are based on the entire procedure of booking and staying at a serviced apartment, from telephone enquiry, pre-stay literature, reservations and arrival greeting through to the physical make-up of the property itself. This examines such details as the type of flooring used in the apartment, as well as heating, ventilation, fixtures and fittings, bed linen, mattresses, pillows, furniture and cleanliness.
Additional factors such as an on-site gym, bar, or restaurant are also factored into the score, as are feedback sites such as TripAdvisor. ?This is a great way to spot trends and also helps to demonstrate that we are impartial in our judging,? comments Foice, who works alongside three full-time assessors.
The scores are then plotted on a graph and compared with competitors in the same price brand based on the first Wednesday in October to allow for any seasonal fluctuations. ?This way, operators can easily benchmark their product and see exactly where investment is needed,? notes Foice.
For the moment, the QA scheme awards a kitemark rather than a star rating, but Foice confirms that ASAP is keeping the option of banding properties in mind for the future, so watch this space.
