A personal view from Anett Gregorius, Founder and Owner of Apartmentservice
Last year started with a personal highlight for me: the front page about the segment in a major hotel industry newspaper. Unmissable, in big letters and with a big exclamation mark beyond all former niche existence. But it all seemed like just a sweet taste compared to what has continued to happen in the market over the past few months. Rising star Temporary Living World is thinking big and planning even bigger. Whether it's with cool mixed-use projects or the big international serviced apartment brands that will give our market another big boost, 2019 will see the launch of new mega-projects that will give us supply growth of at least another 53% percent by the end of next year. 53 % - who can claim that!
The hotel industry has finally discovered our homeliness for itself. In terms of design, they all seem to have made a great commitment. Good for those who can set themselves apart once again in these times. As exciting as the mix & match is everywhere, it also brings with it the new challenge that our product is becoming even more difficult to grasp. In Vienna, for example, I experienced during a tour of various new buildings at the end of 2018 how convincingly neighbouring concepts from student housing have now perfectly adapted the serviced apartment feeling. And this despite the still not fading legal grey areas.
With the new Charter of Temporary Living, which the industry revised last year with great, joint commitment, we are showing the entire real estate world how we should be understood today with all our differentiations. This allows us to aggressively provide municipalities and federal states with an instrument with which they can better understand our segment and relieve the strained housing markets to some extent with temporary housing concepts.
Even the topic of online bookability, for which we were criticised for a long time because of a lack of possibilities, is something our segment can now do and offer very well. But we should not celebrate the topic so much. We only have the technical prerequisites, but in the end we lack the actual long-stay capacities available, especially at prices up to 1,500 euros. So who benefits from the technology if the customer can only book a little?
At the same time, a seriously difficult trend is that with the further differentiation of products, the gap between long and short-stay is growing unceasingly. Because budgets are shrinking as demand increases and because the tight property market makes it difficult to develop affordable long-stay products. But it is still worthwhile to focus on long-stays. Because those who master long-stay conceptually still have a great USP. Because the demand for it is rising continuously. I am curious to see how this topic will develop in 2019!
Until then, we can probably also experience our segment on television. Then, when Anja Graf will become an investor for potential founders on the Swiss edition of the TV show "The Lion King". So to speak, from our own niche company to an international brand that now also acts as a promoter for start-ups.
Our segment has achieved a lot. And we may already get our dancing shoes out at the beginning of the year. Without delusions of grandeur and with as much passion as ever! And as always, connected with the great wish of a unified terminology!
I wish you a wonderful new apartment year and look forward to many intensive conversations with you!
Yours, Anett Gregorius