Last trends CORPORATE HOUSING

Business apartments
Featureless hotel rooms, goodbye! More and more companies prefer to rent luxury apartments for their managers, conceived for long business stays.

All business travellers have tested at least once in their life the sense of alienation caused by hotel rooms, even the most beautiful ones: featureless places used only to sleep in and where it is difficult to “feel at home”. If having this unpleasant sensation is bearable for a three-day stay, the situation is more and more complicated when you have to stay away for weeks or even months.
There is, however, a solution to this inconvenience: business apartments, created for managers traveling for business. They are fully equipped houses fitted with all comforts, with the benefit of improving the life of employees, offering them the possibility to work under the best circumstances, but not only, in the company’s best interest too, enabling them to save money. For companies which need to move a large number of managers throughout the year, in fact, these solution can turn out to be less expensive than hotels or residences.
Among the main companies offering this kind of solution, there is Halldis Italia (www.halldis.com), a tech real estate company founded in 2002 and owned by Windows on Europe (which already groups together all the Ferragamo real estate activities). With an estimated earning of 6,5 million euros for the year 2007, Halldis offers 550 apartments and offices for rent in the main Italian cities (Milan, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice, Catania) and in Europe (Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and soon London and Amsterdam). The apartments are rentable from a minimum of 3 days (for trade shows and meetings) to a year, and they are ready to use, furnished with elegance, equipped with linens and crockery and all the technologies to work comfortably. “On demand, we are ready to offer all the services a traveller doesn’t’ want to attend to personally - explains Pietro Martani, president and founder of Halldis and managing director of Windows on Europe -: from housekeeping services to Internet connection or to preparing a room to host friends and relatives”.
But, which kind of company needs this kind of service? «Even though more and more Italian companies start to show their interest, 65% of our clients are foreign compagnie, mainly from UK and Germany - says Martani -. They are big but even medium and small-sized companies, specialized in the services sector (for example consulting and communication companies, moving a lot of staff during the year). Generally, these companies set a budget for their managers and leave them free to choose their lodging”. And what about Italy? Not all Italian companies know the advantages of this kind of solution - says Martani -. A lot of them contact us because they are looking for the traditional residence, not knowing that we can offer a more personalized service”.
The costs for a business apartment vary according to the location, the size, the level of luxury and comfort. A one bedroom apartment in Milan, for example, can cost from 1600 Euros to 2700 Euros per month, and from 2000 to 3200 Euros in Rome. “ With companies that move a lot of managers, we stipulate agreements that guarantee a saving compared to a stay in hotel or in the typical residence- adds Martani -. What makes the real difference is the fact that sleeping in apartments improves the quality of life and consequently professional performances”.
This idea is confirmed by the statements of managers and companies which have used this kind of service. “The reason why choosing a corporate apartment compared to other solutions - declares Giuseppe Ciocchetti, managing director of Infront Italy, can be summed up in a lower cost for extended permanence periods. Moreover, compared to residences or hotels, this solution allows more freedom and autonomy during the stay, not obliging the client to dinner at the restaurant every day, but giving the possibility to arrange lunches and to have hosts».
“Accenture offers its executive managers on a business trip customized housing solutions, based on the duration of the stay - they say in Accenture -. In our company, the corporate housing service offered for more than 10 years in full outsourcing through a solid relationship with the supplier, guarantees many economical benefits for long lasting transfers (more than 6 months). The service guarantees more privacy, allowing to live all the transfer period in a private home, with more space and more comfortable than a hotel or a residence and with the guarantee of a complete assistance to satisfy all your needs.”
Also noteworthy is that recently Windows on Europe has founded a company called Gentili & Roy (www.gentilieroy.com), catering especially to top managers, vip’s and high spender clients. “We offer luxury apartments in period buildings, in certain cases with an original Chagall or a Magritte painting in the living room, and in modern designer buildings in Milan, Florence, Rome, Turin, Bologna and Paris, explains Martani. Our clients even have a concierge service at their disposal, satisfying every need during their enotre stay: chef and catering service, laundry service, massages, physiotherapy, translators, restaurants and theaters booking, transfers, agreements with exclusive fitness centers.” Prices, in this case, are higher: 900-1800 Euros for a week and 4000-15000 Euros for monthly stays, plus extra services: a personal shopper assistance costs 150 Euros per hour, while to rent a luxury vehicle costs 600 Euros per day.
Among the other companies offering executive apartments we point out a company called Domus Residence (www.domusresidence.com), specialized in logistic services for work and touristic stays in the whole Italian territory and in Croatia. Managers can enjoy many supplementary services, from limousine’s rent to translations and to the setting up of meeting rooms with catering services. A range of services appreciated by prominent companies such as Coin, LaPerla, Sodexo Italia, McCann, Ericsson. Again Milan is where another group called Loft&Space has its headquarters (www.loftandspace.it). The offer consists in modern lofts in the center of Milan, luxuriously furnished on the basis of the last design trends and ideal as accommodation, but even for the organization of events and work meetings. This company offers supplementary services too, for example: airport transfer, car rental with driver, catering and the organization of guided visits.

by Simona Greppi

MISSION – April 2008