Hotel brands are looking at the extended stay segment with renewed vigour as it adds significantly to the bottom line. Focusing primarily at expatriates and corporate clientele, hotels are offering a range of specialised services to attract and retain long staying guests. By Sudipta Dev
It is a segment of the hospitality industry that specialises in providing for its guests a home away from home. Staying from a few weeks to months and sometimes a number of years in the hotel, this is an extremely valued segment of guests who are good for the hotel’s business. These guests spend more than the average guests and take care of a certain number of room inventory in the property. Not surprisingly, hotels go all out of their way to attract long staying guests to increase the base occupancy and improve their revenue options.
Any stay of more than five days is considered in the long stay segment. The guests opting for extended stays in a hotel cover a diverse range – from expatriates to those working on projects and short term work assignments, to those travelling for medical reasons, or relocating / moving between homes. They look for the perks that come with staying in a hotel along with the comforts of a home. What these guests want in return is personalised services ranging from food that is similar to home cooked variety to special linen, and sometimes even photo frames of their families and friends. “Each guest is different and so are their needs and demands. Over the years long staying guests have started looking for something more than a room. We create a home away from home for such guests through our services and extending attractive rates on F&B, spa and salon, Wi-Fi, laundry and other basic necessity,” says Rodney Mendes, head of sales, The Lalit Great Eastern Kolkata.
In Mumbai, Taj Wellington Mews was established in 2004 marking the entry of serviced luxury residences in India. “With the perfect blend of hospitality and real estate, these luxury serviced apartments cater to a very distinct set of clientele. Our guests come under the extended stay segment,” says Nayan Seth, general manager, Taj Wellington Mews, Mumbai. He mentions that with the cost of real estate in cities like Mumbai sky rocketing, they have seen an increased number of guests who view this as a feasible living option. The special amenities range from state of the art conference rooms to a crèche staffed with trained professionals for guests staying with their children to arrangement for walkers. While the average length of stay in the property is 15 nights some guests have stayed as long as eight to nine years.
While ‘home away from home’ has always been the mantra of every hospitality service provider, when it comes to long staying guests, the phrase actually resonates true. “Relocating guests are now looking at options where they have the comfort of self-cooked meals and spacious apartments. Guests today are not very fastidious of fancy restaurants and night clubs and in fact prefer accommodation options that offer facilities that allow them to unwind after a strenuous week at work e.g. swimming pool, spa services, health club, etc.,” acknowledges Megha Ajgaonkar, director sales and marketing, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments.
Business advantage
Looking at the rewarding business prospects, there are quite a few hotels, which have made the segment their core business strategy. At Grand Mercure Bangalore, extended stay forms the base of the business contributing approximately 40 per cent of the hotel’s room revenue.”Being one of the first players in the city to target this niche market, Grand Mercure Bangalore is now one of the most credible and reputed hotels for extended stays,” says Gaurav Shiva, general manager, Grand Mercure Bangalore. Though the average length of stay for guests in the property is three weeks, Shiva has hosted guests for a year also.
If managed well this segment can be the survival factor for a hotel in a highly competitive market. “This is a segment that is mostly sought after and every client is critical as it brings in a lot of business for the efforts. Guests are less likely to move out if happy with the services,” states Shrikant Wakharka, general manager, Westin Chennai Velachery, adding that, the cost of retaining these business is low compared to the volume produced. The extended stay segment forms the core of the property’s business. The average length of stay of the extended stay guest is 40 days in Westin Chennai Velachery. Wakharka believes that loyalty programmes are critical for this business, and a good loyalty programme can shift/ retain business.
During recession also, extended stay segment has shown small increase in demand, points out Sumit Kant, vice president and general manager, Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai. “Majority of extended stay demand in our hotel is business related. This helps in increasing the RevPAR as the weekends and the holidays are covered. Extended stay rates are sometimes lower but are not so suppressed,” he mentions.
The importance of the segment also stems from the fact that for every property a particular percentage of rooms are occupied for a significant period. “If the base category rooms are occupied it helps in up selling the higher categories thus pushing the ARRs,” explains Mendes. Maulina Gupta, director sales and marketing, Hyatt Regency Gurgaon reminds that guests who stay for longer duration tend to utilise all the facilities in the hotel such as restaurants, room service and spas thereby generating additional revenue for the hotel.
Personalised services
The range of services offered to this valued segment of guests is vast and varied. Hyatt Regency Gurgaon offers special discounts and customised packages keeping the guest’s needs in mind. The long stay package includes breakfast, internet, airport transfers, discounts on restaurants and spa, in addition to pick and drop facilities for local travel once during their stay. “Personalised service is the key to retain long stay guests. Attention to detail by housekeeping, concierge and F&B associates is important,” says Gupta.
In the last one decade Taj Wellington Mews has tried to create an environment which provides its guests with all the amenities which they can experience at a hotel, while maintaining the privacy and exclusivity of it being their home. There are innumerable options for recreational activities with a jogging track, roof-top swimming pool, gymnasium and a Jiva Spa. The property also includes a well-stocked delicatessen – Weli Deli, which offers the choicest of salads, meats and cheeses as well as the option to have food delivered from restaurants at The Taj Mahal Palace and Vivanta by Taj President. “Apart from traditional services like housekeeping, mail and courier services, 24-hours maintenance etc., we also offer our guests extremely personalised services like babysitting and pet walkers. Our staff undergo a systematic training procedure to ensure that each task is executed with extreme efficiency. Most of our staff has been with us since inception and are like family to many of our guests who have been staying with us for a long time,” asserts Seth.
Apart from traditional hotel amenities, all rooms and suites at Grand Mercure Bangalore are equipped with a kitchenette to allow guests to cook for themselves. Balconies which overlook mostly greenery are found in every room above the ground floor. Extended stay guests get additional benefits like complimentary laundry services, high speed internet access for multiple devices and discounts on hotel services and transportation facilities.
Four Points by Sheraton in Navi Mumbai has apartments with facilities like kitchen, bigger fridge, etc. “However, being a corporate hotel not necessarily the guests opt for apartments. They are sometimes contend with a club room or a suite and they look for some special discounts on laundry, food and beverage, spa and salon. We also have a comfortable lounge. We haven’t morphed with our design to become a residential hotel,” explains Kant.
At Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments, facilities offered vary from grocery services for guests delivered to their room, a tennis court with a dedicated coach for single travellers, children’s play area with a trained nurse available six days a week, varied dining options including an expansive breakfast buffet catering to the tastes of guests from different backgrounds. “The team also ensures that all popular festivals are celebrated on premises by encompassing several authentic rituals and traditions in the celebrations,” adds Ajgaonkar.
The fact however remains that for these guests who have made the hotel their home, privacy is of utmost importance. “Hotels have to realise that guests need to be given space. Going overboard in assisting a guest is not appreciated and considered as intrusion. Having said that, we should ensure that the guest is comfortable and feels that he isn’t staying at a hotel,” warns Mendes.
Evolving demands
While the long stay segment has grown in the last few years, there has been some change in guest demands and preference. According to Shiva, extended stay guests are now not only price sensitive but are aware of all their options and look for competitive rates and inclusions like laundry services, meals and transportation facilities. Guests also look for options that give them easy access to various shopping and entertainment hubs to visit in the evenings and over weekends.
Many times a corporate looks out for an apartment outside the hotel after the initial stay of their guests at the hotel. Kant points out, “We emphasis to them on various benefits of the guest staying in the hotel. In case of specially foreigners, the safety and security is emphasised on. We also have an excellent facility of large gym, pool, branded spa and salon. We pitch based upon these.”
As the extended stay segment is all about inspiring living in a home away from home, the marketing is around promoting what is most important to the expatriate traveller. This would include community living, neighborhood schools and hospitals, in-house recreation and most importantly the apartment facilities which makes it a home to the traveller. “Further the segment of extended stay is also promoted in comparison to real estate offerings as a complete solution without any overhead costs like in other residential housing options,” adds Ajgaonkar.
Emerging trends
A niche yet growing segment, the future will see the evolution of many interesting trends as guests would seek higher levels of personalisation and customisation. In an effort to address the problem of homesickness that many guests feel, some hotels are taking measures to make the stay more home-like with simple home-styled food and allowing guests to customise their rooms. Grand Mercure Bangalore allows extended stay guests to customise the linen used on the beds and also give them the option of replacing the photo frames in the rooms with pictures of their family and friends. “With the increase in the number of guests from Japan, many hotels including ourselves have also introduced Japanese food into our buffet menus. Hotel chefs are also encouraged to proactively whip up special dishes for the guests who find traditional menus monotonous,” informs Shiva.
Hotels have to look at redesigning the rooms to accommodate the extended stay guests as this is among the future core business segments in business hotels. According to Wakharkar room types should be able to accommodate families and pantry facility should be extended. Rollaway should be a permanent part i.e. sofa beds, etc. Entertainment options should be looked at along with critically engaging the guests regularly. “Other important aspects would be in room entertainment, gaming zones, customised fitness assistance, 24 hours concierge assistance, access to celebrity restaurants, private cinemas, golf course and sports activities,” adds Kant.
The future will also see the guesthouse concept which will emerge for corporates within extended stay hotels, points out Ajgaonkar, adding that there will also be flexible pricing based on length of stay, advance payment clauses, etc.
Traditionally, service apartments provided minimum services such as a basic reception, buffet breakfast, a self-service laundry and a minimum stay of seven days. “However, today, they have evolved into apartment hotels with all the luxuries such as lavish buffet breakfast, laundry services, swimming pool, gymnasium, room service, restaurants, lounge bars, etc. Taj Wellington Mews has become a premier residential address in the country for businessmen, NRIs, expats and diplomats alike,” says Seth.
Training and sensitisation of the staff is important for dealing with the long staying guests. It ranges from knowing the guest preferences, dietary requirements and offering personalised services without being intrusive. For instance, at Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel & Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments, prior to the arrival of the guest, a detailed briefing is taken by the operations manager for the housekeeping and food and beverage team. The details discussed include origin country, length of stay, specific requirements, etc. In the event that the guest is a repeat guest, then past history is again shared with the team.
The extended stay segment is being promoted by hotel brands through direct sales, electronic mailers, social media. The goodwill and patronage of loyal customers are important factors for business.