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Serviced Apartments

Serviced apartments are a rare property type in Beijing. It integrates the functions of residence, hotel and club, and has two functions: "self-use" and "investment". Compared with traditional hotels, serviced apartments are not inferior in terms of hardware and supporting facilities, but their services are even better. The so-called serviced apartments refer to apartments that provide hotel-style management services. In addition to providing various services of a traditional hotel, it is more important to provide guests with a family-style living layout and home-style services to truly feel at home. Its biggest feature is that it feels more like home than a traditional hotel. Because it absorbs the advantages of traditional hotels and traditional apartments, it is very popular among business people.

The origin of serviced apartments

The concept of serviced apartments began in 1994, which means "hotel-style service, apartment-style management" and has a high market positioning.

Serviced apartments originated in Europe. They were properties rented to tourists for temporary rest in tourist areas at that time. They were uniformly managed on-site by a specialized management company. They were both in the nature of a hotel and equivalent to a personal apartment. "temporary housing". These properties became the prototype of serviced apartments.

In my country, serviced apartments first appeared in Shenzhen, and later appeared in Shanghai, Beijing and other places. According to statistics from Cushman & Wakefield, there are currently 75 serviced apartments in Shanghai and fewer in Beijing. , they are mainly concentrated in high-end residential areas in the city center.

Features of serviced apartments

Serviced apartments not only absorb the service functions and management models of star-rated hotels, but also absorb the characteristics of office buildings in the information age. They are a highly comprehensive A property management concept that integrates multiple functions such as residences, hotels, and clubs.

The apartment types of serviced apartments range from tens to hundreds of square meters, which can meet the individual needs of users. There are also different styles for different house types. In terms of services, hotel-style services are provided according to the requirements of residents. At the same time, banks, clubs, small supermarkets and other ancillary facilities are also added.

The design of the serviced apartment project itself is also personalized. It does not follow the general form and can provide residents with high-end and comprehensive services.

The biggest feature of choosing a hotel-style apartment to live in is freedom and convenience, and the price is relatively low. You can get various hotel-style services at any time, which shows your style.

The Prospects of Serviced Apartments

As China joins the WTO, more international multinational companies will come to Beijing to set up companies. Among them, small and medium-sized enterprises, due to their financial strength, hotel-style apartments Apartments are their first choice.

Serviced apartments are also the first choice for investors and homebuyers, especially those who buy properties in other places. Because this type of investment has room for excellent returns for most people. Generally, the rent of a hotel is 30 RMB higher than that of an apartment, while serviced apartments are small in size, easy to manage, and easy to rent, which are incomparable to other property projects. However, high-end projects occupy relatively more funds and have a relatively long return cycle, so they are more suitable for medium- and long-term investors.

The most important thing for a serviced apartment is the environment it relies on to survive. It is best to be in the city center to have broad space for development and return on investment.

Serviced apartments are fully personalized

Serviced apartments should have sufficient quality, and most importantly, they should be able to provide consistent personalized services. Personalization has two meanings: First, it is to meet the individual needs of users, because most of the people who rent hotel business apartments are highly educated, high-quality, and even international people who have a strong understanding of living culture and office environment. Have unique understanding and needs; secondly, the project itself should also be personalized, including building type, decoration, environment, supporting facilities, etc., and cannot follow the crowd. This is the vitality of serviced apartments and the core factor in realizing returns on investment in serviced apartments.

Serviced apartments contain investment value

Compared with other investment products, serviced apartments have obvious advantages, thus attracting many investors. First, the risk is small. Since the property is managed by the hotel management company, as long as one house is rented out, all customers will benefit, avoiding zero income due to vacancy.

Secondly, the returns are high. In the past two years, the rent of high-end apartments in Beijing has been on an unstoppable downward trend due to the sharp increase in overall supply. The rents of some properties have dropped by more than 50%. However, serviced apartments such as Guomao and Kerry Center have shown an upward trend. , the overall actual transaction rental price fluctuated by less than 5%. Obviously, compared with ordinary high-end apartments, the rental level of serviced apartments is stronger. Currently, rents for serviced apartments in Beijing range from US$8/square meter/month to US$56/square meter/month, with occupancy rates generally above 70%.

Experts point out that serviced apartments are the best choice for investment buyers, especially those who buy properties in other places. Because this type of property investment has room for excellent returns for most people. Typically, hotel rentals are 30% higher than apartments. The characteristics of serviced apartments such as small units, easy management, and easy rental are incomparable to other property projects. However, high-end projects occupy relatively more funds and have a relatively long return cycle, so they are more suitable for medium and long-term investors.

Factors to note when investing in serviced apartments

However, industry experts point out that although serviced apartments have investment advantages, investors need to consider the following factors when choosing this type of property investment:

1. Location. Most of the customers are business people who value convenience. Therefore, whether the business environment is strong, whether the transportation is convenient, and whether the surrounding facilities such as schools and hospitals are complete, determine whether the property has a stable consumer group. Properties in mature business districts have more investment value. . Xie Bin, managing director of Beijing Platinum Real Estate Development Company, the developer of the "Dingji Jiahua Century" project that has achieved success in this type of property investment, believes that the growth environment of hotel serviced apartments should be in business districts. He believes that mature business districts have a gathering effect on the target consumer groups of hotel serviced apartments, so that the apartments will have a steady flow of customers.

2. The level of service. In the leasing market, the retention of customers depends largely on the quality of property management, and the level of service directly affects operating conditions. The ability to provide good services is the most basic condition for evaluating the quality of a property. It is the added value of the product and is directly related to the future rental and income returns of the property. Enterprise strength and operation and management level are the key. Currently, there is a lack of professional operating companies in the market. The overall operation level is not high, the integrity is not enough, and the income is low. The experience of Dingji Jiahua Century in this regard is also of great reference value. They not only hired property companies with rich experience in hotel-style management, but also actively cooperated with major hotel reservation agencies to ensure the stability of the customer base.

3. Is the price overdrafted? The hotel-style service apartments that appear to be “guaranteed income in droughts and floods” actually have hidden dangers. There are many projects that use the guise of stable returns, but houses that originally cost several thousand yuan are sold for tens of thousands of yuan. Even with future returns, the purchased house has a negative equity.

When the emergence of new serviced apartments will bring new opportunities to the hotel industry, which is now at its peak investment period, we will wait and see.