It?s past 8 pm and Mark Ford has just reached home. Shaking off the tiredness of yet another hectic day at office, he slips into his pajamas and helps himself to a drink. A loner here, his daily attempt to unwind begins when he reaches for his black grand piano kept in the living room and logs onto his daily dose of mellow meditation. ?Hiring a piano was the only demand I put forth when I shifted to the service apartment in Gurgaon. Now, playing it for hours is a routine. In fact, this is the best and cheapest way for me to fly back home instantly,? says the director, Knowledge Centre, OSC Export Services Private Limited.

Peep into any service apartment running across the length and breadth of the country, what is common to all of them is luxury, and of course, home comforts. Scenes would range from melodious piano sessions to kids sharing their school gossip, to simmering ?home-made? soups in the kitchen. Some would be hosting a bunch of friends, while a few would be readying for Christmas renovations. The booming segment of service apartments is enticing millions of travellers ? from NRIs to MNC managers to those in the city to settle their legal and medical problems.

Luxury is the byword. The apartments offer services like housekeeping, full-fledged spic-n-span kitchens, electronic gadgets, room service, on-site business centres, health clubs, cr?ches (also the freedom to keep pets), restaurants, 24×7 security, et al. ?About 80% of our clients are corporates. And with these apartments being strong revenue generators, we are always open to customised requests,? says Priyadarshi Samal, director operations, Chalet Hospitality, Bangalore.

Ashrafi Matcheswala, GM, Taj Wellington Mews (TWM) Luxury Residences at Mumbai could not agree more. ?Our customer is a globetrotter. There is thus a tendency to ask for things that are top of the line and often something quite out of the world. Some day they can ask for a bread or fruit they like which may not be available in India. So, it becomes our job to source it for them. They can think of something absolutely different next time. To attend to these requests, we push our staff to be in touch with them and try to understand what else they might want.?

Today, high-end service apartments are recording around 97% occupancy around the year, with advance bookings running into months. Studies show that visitors tend to zero in on such apartments for reasons like larger space and ability to accommodate the family, the feeling of being in a home and cost effectiveness when compared to 5-star hotels (which would differ by at least Rs 1 lakh a month). ?The rush is enormous, with companies coming to us again and again and the demand has made us think seriously about expansion plans,? says Sonia Kochhar, PR manager with The Qutab, a hotel holding 30 high-end service apartments in the Capital.

Though the proposition is economical and convenient, the shortage in supply is what spoils the happy picture. Not many travellers are lucky enough to get hold of the keys that open the doors to a high-end apartment run by elite players like Taj, Grand Hyatt or Qutub. They often have to reluctantly settle for a 4 or 3-star hotel instead. Thus, there are fewer services on offer, which might not be of the highest standards either.

So there are apartments and there are apartments. Anjana Narain, a manager with an MNC, has heard of complaints like leaking bathrooms and cockroach-infested bedrooms from some of her colleagues. Fortunately, she doesn?t have any shortcomings to recount. ?My experience has been good because my children are also comfortable here. As long as they are attended to nicely, I don?t have any complains,? says the manager.

Complaints galore there are nevertheless. Mark Ford, for instance, is upset by Gurgaon?s frequent power cuts and his apartment?s struggling generator. He figures this is a problem that he wouldn?t face in a 5-star hotel. Thorsten Allenstein, GM and country head, Triump International, says his employees have lived in a service apartment, where maintenance was not up to the mark. This was in Chennai, where the company is now setting up a factory. Running IKAN Relocations, a relocation agency, Rohit Kumar has something to say about the numerous rounds he has made with these travellers to shortlist a service apartment. ?Next to the shortage is the lack of standardisation in the segment. Though 85% of my clients move into these apartments, I have to face the initial hiccups. Many of them are not happy with the facilities on offer. They have high expectations you see. But later, realising that there isn?t much of a choice, they settle for whatever comes their way,? explains Kumar.

Landlords usually offer travellers furnished properties of real estate developers on lease. It?s difficult to try out the property on a trial and there is often pressure to deposit a major percentage of the rent in advance, says Kumar. ?Usually travellers call in their employers to sort out these issues. This has led to companies like Microsoft, which bring in high volumes of employees, at times manage their own apartments,? he adds.

The good news is that this scenario is likely to change for the better. Global brands like Oak Wood, Fraser, Homestead, Halcyon, Qutab and Savoy Suites all thinking of expansion here. ?We can expect a lot of action in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad,? says Anuj Puri of Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj.

Experts predict it will take another five years to spruce up the service apartments sector. That?s when you will be assured true global standards. Hopefully for most, coming to India to do business then will be like coming home.