One problem, one solution

SPECIALISTS IN
SWEET HOMES

HALLDIS MISSION IS THE WELL-BEING OF THOSE TRAVELLING FOR WORK. HERE ARE THE SERVICES OFFERED TO THOSE THINKING OF LIVING AS A CULT.

The opportunity to find, rapidly and with the maximum flexibility, a self-catered, high-tech, ready to use furnished apartment is one of the most common needs of those living for short or long terms off-site, in Italy or in the main European cities. Hotels are mostly a Hobson’s choice, but it is not, as you may think, the best solution in terms of money and practicality.
In the USA, Tech Real Estates companies have been the only ones trying to give the growing request of corporate apartments an answer. They operate with an innovative property management system through which clients (managers, free lancers and also tourists) can rent self catering apartments, and companies can find temporary offices. The first European company of this kind is called Halldis, and offers apartments for rent for short term stays, available from a minimum of 3 days to over 1 year. There are many advantages in a service like this, compared to a hotel stay, especially from an economic point of view.

THE PRIVILEGE OF LIVING IN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STREETS AND SQUARES OF ITALY AND EUROPE, ATTENDED BY A CLOSE-KNIT TEAM

If we consider the city of Milan and compare the average price of an apartment managed by Halldis with a Milanese hotel with the same quality features (medium to medium-top level), we notice that the first solution is much cheaper. An example: for a 2 bedroom apartment the monthly rent is about 2000-2500 €, an amount which would suffice for about ten days in a hotel. Moreover, there are other advantages: with an apartment you can freely arrange your space, with more privacy and without the duties typical of an hotel as for example vacate the room before a certain time. Halldis, set up in 2002 by the current president Pietro Martani, is participated with a mixed American and European capital.
Halldis doesn’t work as a broker and doesn’t ask commissions to its clients; it manages the properties directly, with transparency and efficiency, reducing inconveniences and delays caused by bureaucracy issues, which usually characterize traditional rentals. When a client books an apartment, he receives a telephone number to call in case of need during the whole stay. All based in a Milanese office, mother tongue operators answer clients in Italian, English, French, German, Dutch, Russian and Japanese. In addition to the advantages for managers and companies there are advantages for the apartment owners who decided to entrust Halldis: for example getting rid of the whole house management. Owners are not bound by the owner-tenant rental contract, and can ask to use their property for specific periods, and do not have insolvency problems, because, depending on the city, they are guaranteed from 2 to 6 months of the agreed sum, whether the apartment is busy or not.
Halldis current portfolio includes 550 apartments, directly managed (intended to grow, according to recent alliances) in the most important Italian cities: Bologna, Catania, Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin and Venice. In addition to these destinations, in the next weeks Halldis will set up also in Ancona, Bergamo, Brescia, Cagliari, Genoa, Naples, Pescara, Pisa and other 30 cities. The price range for one bedroom apartment varies from 1200 to 3200 euros per month; while for two (or more) bedroom apartments the prices range between 1500 and 5200 €. Among these cities, Turin is the cheapest one, while Rome and Milan are the most expensive. In Milan, where the company chaired by Pietro Martani has its headquarters, a new initiative called Corporate Housing has recently been presented. It deals with a new building with 24 apartments, one different from the other, self-catered and serviced, equipped with the newest technologies, such as Internet access, home automation, meeting room, a panoramic terrace with a cook and waiters available for working launches or dinners (available upon request). The building, located in via Biondelli 7, in the Bocconi University area, belongs to Vitofin Spa company, but is completely managed by Halldis. Abroad, the company is already renting properties in Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris and will rent apartments even in London and Amsterdam.
In 2007 Gentili & Roy, a company aiming to satisfy a higher target, was founded from a Halldis’s rib. Gentili & Roy offers 40 luxury apartments in the main Italian and European cities: luxury apartments in the most central and exclusive metropolis such as Paris, for example in Place des Vosges, or Rome, close to Spanish Steps or in other European famous places. Gentili & Roy’s clients have a concierge service at their disposal, which satisfies their every need all the stay long: professional housekeeping, even daily change of sheets and towels, laundry service, pick-up service, personal shopper, cook, massages and physiotherapy, interpreters, restaurant, theatre and events booking, and conventions with fitness centers. Gentili & Roy prices vary from 300 to 3000 € per day, depending on the different apartment typologies, to cities and to the services requested.

By Francesco Ferrucci

MONSIEUR – December 2007