„Serviced Apartments are increasingly preferred to hotels during long stays in a city.” Michael Ries, Chairman of the Board of Pantera AG, about a result of the study “New Living 2020 – Travel & Stay”
In the representative study “New Living 2020 – Travel & Stay”, the real estate developer Pantera AG had 1,113 working people interviewed. The focus was on the question of what attitudes and behavioral patterns Germans exhibit during longer business trips. According to the survey, 25 percent of those surveyed take business trips lasting longer than two weeks at a time. There are differences depending on gender, age, salary and region, as well as whether they are employees or self-employed.
While almost one in three working men take business trips that last at least two weeks, only about half as many working women do so. Men also state almost four times more often that this occurs “more often” and not just occasionally in their jobs. Also interesting: In East Germany, working women are much more likely to go on business trips lasting several weeks than their West German colleagues.
More salary, more on the road
The frequency of longer business trips increases significantly with the level of income. Employees with a net monthly income of 2,000 Euros or more take them almost twice as often (33 percent) as lower salary groups. More than one in two of those with net earnings of 4,000 Euros or more report this.
The age of the business travellers also plays a role. For example, 25- to 35-year-olds most frequently have business trips of several weeks outside their place of residence. From the age of 45, this is only an issue for about one in five. Self-employed persons are significantly more frequent overall than employees on business trips lasting several weeks.
Serviced Apartments enable longer business trips in one accommodation
For employees on business trips lasting several weeks, “an appropriate price” is most important (59 percent). More than half (52 percent) also consider it important “to be able to stay in the same place from start to finish and not have to move in between”. Only in third and fourth place (38 percent) are “very good Internet” and “good transport connections” (33 percent).
Against this background, Michael Ries, Chairman of the Board of Pantera AG, sees a demand for Serviced Apartments, which are particularly aimed at project staff, trainees, consultants or other business travellers who stay in one city for several weeks or months and are looking for a secure second home. With an average of 25 to 30 square meters of space and separate living and sleeping areas, these apartments offer more space and individuality than hotels and, with their integrated kitchen, enable self-sufficiency and thus social distancing when needed. Besides the guests profit from lower costs with long-term stays in comparison to the hotel, says Michael Ries (photo down).
More Serviced Apartments in demand
The new high demand for the time-share offer was also evident during the Corona lockdown in spring 2020, when numerous classic hotels were closed or largely vacant and Serviced Apartments were booked many times over. “Almost three quarters of Serviced Apartment operations in Germany remained open. The occupancy rate was still 70 percent in March 2020 and did not drop below 40 percent, especially in the case of Serviced Apartment Houses with a focus on longstay properties,” says Anett Gregorius, owner of the consulting and agency company Apartmentservice (photo). “In August 2020, occupancy rates across Germany were more stable again at 64 percent on average, and some are already close to full occupancy again, depending on location.
Both Anett Gregorius and Michael Ries (photo) see a higher demand for additional Serviced Apartment offers. According to the current market report Serviced Apartments 2020 by Apartmentservice, there are currently around 33,900 Serviced Apartments in 631 buildings with at least 15 units. By the end of 2022, around 16,400 new units are expected to be added, representing growth of around 50 percent. For the real estate developer Pantera also important in view of the increasing number of long-distance commuters: According to the study “New Living 2020 – Travel & Stay” (New Living 2020 – Travel & Stay), around one in four working people in Germany (24 percent) is prepared to become a long-distance commuter for the job. This is particularly true for working men (29 percent) and for 25 to 34-year-olds, a third of whom agree. In addition there are working persons with higher earnings: While with a monthly net income under 2,000 Euro only 20 per cent would become a long-distance commuter for the job, it is 47 per cent with net earners starting from 4,000 Euro.
Foto: © Pantera AG, Apartmentservice