BUSINESS CLASS | The Scotsman Special report | Wednesday 3 September 20086
ingtostopyoumicrowavingacurryand
slobbing out in front of the telly, or
hunting down a bowl of cornflakes at
4am. By the same token, you can often
go to the other extreme and provide a
businessdinnerforcolleaguesorclients
inthecomfortofyourownspace.
There are plenty of other advantages,
too. It's more or less a given that e-mail
andinternetaccesswillbeavailable,and
there's often the space and ambience to
hold business meetings too. If you need
secretarial back-up or even help with
your onward travel plans, these services
areoftenavailable.
Edinburgh, in particular, has
responded to the demand from busi-
ness travellers for serviced apartments
and now provides a number of city cen-
tre accommodation units catering for
this market. One of the most successful
operationsisFountainCourt,whichhas
a number of developments in and
aroundtheWestEndandoffersone,two
and three-bedroom properties as well
asduplexes.
"On average, apartments work out
about 35 per cent cheaper than a hotel
overaweek,"saysdirectorofoperations
John Neil. "At Fountain Court, you can
getafourorfive-starservicedapartment
formuchthesameasyouwouldpayfor
a three-star hotel. If additional guests
stay, then the overall price per person is
significantlyreduced."
Neil says that the apartments offer
real value for money. "They represent a
great quality product with great service
andareavailableforanight,foramonth
or for longer. We are finding now that
the increases in hotel rates are driving
corporate buyers to look elsewhere �
particularlyinthecurrenteconomiccli-
mate,FountainCourtapartmentsreally
arethesensibleoptiontohotels."
Serviced apartments offer the best of
bothhotelandhome�aswellasprovid-
ing business executives with the com-
fort zone they associate with being in
their own properties, they are also fully
servicedbyhousekeeping.
"The increased movement of
workforceswithinmanycompanieshas
created a need for a second home in the
city during the week, with the serviced
environmentofahotelwhereyoudon't
have to worry about changing the
sheets," says Neil. "We have a 24-hour
reception, so guests have the option of
speakingtoamemberofstaffifrequired
anytimeofthedayornight."
Canon Court Apartments provides
one or two-bedroom apartments in the
Canonmills area, which have free park-
ing and a large number of restaurants
nearby.
Another option is the Storytelling
Apartment,aone-bedroomself-catering
unitlocatedontheRoyalMile.Itincludes
underfloorheatinginthebathroom,wifi
andafullystockedkitchen.
Lindsay Brown, marketing manager
ofVisitScotland'sbusinesstourismunit,
says serviced apartments are just one of
many types of accommodation in Scot-
landwhicharedesignedtoappealtothe
requirementsofbusinesstravellers.
"The needs of business visitors
continuetobewide-rangingandvaried,
from the type of accommodation to
office and IT facilities, which is why
Scotlandiscommittedtobuildingonits
reputation as a business and leisure
destination by investing about �800
million in new and redeveloped facili-
ties," she says. "We have an eclectic and
extensivefusionofstyleswhichincludes
town houses and lodges as well as
serviced apartments. Many hotels have
W
E'VE all been there. You
spend the whole day fly-
ing halfway round the
world to some distant
business destination. Wearied by
delays, airport fatigue, a crammed
planecabinandthetaxicrawlintotown,
youfinallyarriveatyourhotel.
As you open your room door, your
heartsinks.It'ssmall,crampedandsoul-
less. The bathroom is the size of a tele-
phonebox.Clean,yes;inspiring,no.You
close your eyes and take a deep sigh,
knowing that this is going to be your
home and life support system for the
nexttwoweeks.
Yetitneednotbelikethis.Alternative
forms of accommodation are available,
and among the most popular are ser-
viced apartments. These offer far more
than the anonymity of hotel rooms �
theycanbeagenuinehomefromhome
and far more suited to the needs of the
businesstraveller,especiallyifyourstay
islikelytobealengthyone.
Itisnotsurprisingthatthepopularity
oftheseapartmentsisgrowingdramati-
cally. They currently only account for
some3.5percentoftheroomsavailable
intheUK,buttheserviceflatsectorisone
ofthefastestexpandingsegmentsofthe
market, with four to five times more
growththanthehotelsector.
Most serviced apartments are situ-
ated in the centre of cities and offer a
much greater range of facilities than
even the most luxurious hotel suites.
Theygenerallyhavekitchensanddining
tables, making them ideal for avoiding
the comparatively intimidating experi-
ence of eating dinner alone in
restaurantsorthesolitaryexperienceof
callingroomservice.
With an apartment, you can eat what
youwant,whenyouwant.There'snoth-
Enjoy all the comforts of
home on your business trip
Forget the anonymity of a hotel room, serviced aparments are fast
becoming the accommodation of choice for professionals who want
their own space in which to relax and unwind, writes AndrewCollier
"Most
serviced
apartments
offer a much
greater
range of
facilities
than hotel
suites"

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