Serviced accommodation is a profitable business in the UK, especially during this pandemic. More and more people have chosen to take so-called “staycations” and the demand for serviced accommodation has gone up. It is no longer a risk-riddled property strategy but a booming business.
Money Making From Serviced Accommodation Properties
Serviced accommodations are turning out to be comfortable and stylish alternatives to traditional hospitality accommodation, meaning hotels are not the only choice for temporary stays. Serviced accommodation properties attract families looking for a break in a different city where they wish to cook their meals and crave the comfort of a homely setting or professionals traveling for work and seeking a homelier place to lay their heads.
In the last 8 years, the number of serviced accommodation properties in Europe has nearly doubled. In 2008 there were merely 43,687 serviced accommodation units which rocketed to 114,021 in 2016. In the UK alone, you could have found more than 19,000 serviced apartment units in 2016, and the number is constantly increasing as more and more property developers are building serviced accommodation properties.
Following are tips to improve your serviced accommodation business and make more money by standing out from the competitors:
1. Offer Something Extra
Surprise and pamper your guests with some extra services and take your serviced accommodation business to the next level by strongly differentiating it from conventional property investment. Design your services to make the stay of your guests extra convenient. Offer free food or airport transfers upon arrival, or go for more luxurious services such as champagne, chauffeur service, or welcome flowers placed in the room. Cleaning services are also vital, as a lot of visitors consider these a fundamental feature of a serviced accommodation property stay.
2. Offer 24/7 On-site Support
If possible, try adding the reassuring and appealing features of a concierge or a reception desk at all times. Deploying an employee who remains on-site 24/7 can remove a visitor’s stress at the prospect of touring a new city. A concierge or reception clerk can deliver a deeper knowledge of the local area and its amenities. They can also answer any questions that visitors may have about the serviced accommodation.
3. Pay Attention To Online Feedback
Since nowadays travelers use the internet to plan their trips, they make their decision based on the reviews available online. A credible report states that 79% of clients value online reviews as significantly as personal recommendations. Guests choosing serviced accommodation over hotels have the possibility of extending their stay for longer periods, so many will want to research their lodging more closely. Corporate business owners often send their employees on official training to other cities or even countries and prefer serviced accommodations over costly hotels for months of stay. They make sure to choose a place where their staff is going to be able to get their work done. Their logistics and protocol department does online research to see what other visitors are saying about a serviced accommodation. You need to take your online reviews and feed seriously and should make improvements to secure a 5-star rating.
4. Follow Up With Guests
Contact your visitors after they have stayed with you to seek feedback as a means to improve your future visitors’ experiences. Consider offering a voucher, a discount, or any other low-cost incentive for a visitor to review their stay at your serviced accommodation. In this way, you can not only learn from their experiences but also take their comments on your social media as an attempt to establish credibility online.
5. Monitor Serviced Accommodation Industry And Hotel Industry Trends
Keep a close eye on the hotel industry trends as well as the moves of serviced accommodation competitors. Although the serviced accommodation business is not new, the demand for such properties has risen recently. The demand for serviced accommodation properties is currently higher than the availability, and many investors are now catching on to the prospect for such accommodation. Currently, the trends are altering and adjusting at a faster rate, and what is in demand in one area and at a particular price range may drastically differ in other places and at different rates. You need to keep yourself abreast of industry standards and opportunities in both the serviced accommodation market as well as the conventional hospitality world as they potentially keep affecting each other.
6. Implement A Powerful Marketing Strategy
These are several marketing strategies you may implement to attract the attention of potential audiences and guests. You need to study your target market thoroughly before crafting a powerful marketing campaign that involves both conventional as well as digital marketing platforms to reach out to your prospective guests. Establishing an authentic brand, securing credibility and authority in the industry will help you get your brand and your services accommodation property under the noses of potential clients. An up and running business website ensures that your brand will reach out to a much larger audience. Make sure your brand website is fully responsive to any mobile device and fully optimized for effective search engine marketing. Social media ads campaigns along with Google ads campaigns are a promising way to promote your brand in addition to print ads.
7. Understand your clients
By understanding who you are advertising to and perhaps even creating an audience persona, you put your serviced accommodation business in a better position to learn details such as the tariff that your target audience is willing to pay and the amenities they are looking for. Either define the customers who are looking for accommodation near your property, or explore a neighborhood that is popular with the client-type who matches your budget and business style, and look out for a suitable property in that neighborhood.
Final Thoughts
If you decide to take up serviced accommodation as your next money-making business idea, start small by converting a single property before determining whether you want to expand further.
Serviced accommodation continues to disrupt the traditional hospitality industry globally let alone in the UK, so it’s a thrilling time to explore making money in this way.
