Serviced apartments, boarding house, aparthotel, extended stay, business apartments ... there are many different terms, but they all refer to the same: Flexible, temporarily rentable living space, including individually bookable services. Aside from individual travellers, tourists on an extended stay and local residents who require a short-term replacement apartment due to personal reasons, the main client base consists mostly of business travellers, artists and diplomats. Anton Junek, owner and operator of “Short-term Residences”, says the majority of his guests are business people. His currently eight fully furnished rental apartments achieved an excellent occupancy rate of 80 percent on average for the year of 2009. “However, the booking behaviour has changed,” says Junek. In previous years, bookings were usually made much earlier and for longer periods of time; today, they are mostly last-minute requests, and the duration of stays is significantly shorter than in previous years. Developments to expand his offerings by four small-size apartments are already underway.

A Welcome Alternative to a Hotel

Hermann Klein, Managing Director of IG Immobilien and operator of the Orchideenpark boarding house, also believes that the recipe for the success of rental apartments is their good blend of hotel and residence features. Companies in particular are taking advantage of the offerings as a welcome alternative to a hotel stay. The boarding house features 26 studio apartments with high-quality furnishings and living space of 31 to 59 square metres. Besides a committed service team, it offers a spacious wellness area, fitness facilities, an outdoor pool and a business corner with ultra-modern office infrastructure. In addition, the Orchideenpark boarding house meets the three (according to real estate specialists most important) criteria: Location, location, location. Proximity to the recreational area of Wienerwald and the famous wine region of Grinzing, as well as the good connection to the public transport network – all these are favourable attributes of the location in the posh Döbling district. While Orchideenpark is already among the established addresses in the boarding house business, Adagio is one of the newcomers to the Vienna market. The brand of Adagio City Aparthotel was created in October of 2007 as part of a joint venture between two groups of companies: Pierre & Vacances and Accor. By now, their portfolio contains 30 Aparthotels in prime locations in European metropolises. Since December of 2009, Adagio also offers 124 serviced apartments “à la carte” in Vienna, with a business corner, fitness centre and sauna. “By 2014, we are planning to expand our European network to include 80 hotels,” says Etienne Mercier, Director of Operations for Adagio.

High-Class Residences in Vienna

The internationally active real estate company Medox develops and implements new hospitality and gastronomy concepts in the United Arab Emirates and Central Europe. Their basis consists of premium properties in central locations that are being converted into hotels, restaurants and other hospitality facilities. In Vienna, Medox currently offers two high-class apartment buildings for discerning guests: MyPlace “Riverside” and MyPlace “City Centre”. A third MyPlace residence is already in the planning stage. Besides exquisitely designed apartments with ultra-modern furnishings, they offer comprehensive concierge service that is available around the clock. The apartment residence Aldano, a property from the portfolio of CEBA Group, located in the middle of Vienna’s embassy district, also offers an elegant ambiance. This tastefully renovated turn-of-the-century building features 35 serviced apartments between 31 and 76 square metres in size. In keeping with the distinguished ambiance of the old building, all “Aldano Serviced Apartments” are equipped with period furniture and premium-quality materials. The wide range of services includes breakfast and laundry, while modern technological equipment with electronic access control, broadband internet and VOIP telephony provides security and creates an efficient work environment.

Hotel and Living

There are situations where travellers prefer a flexible living concept over a traditional hotel stay. To satisfy such preferences, Munich’s Derag Group offers traditional hotels as well as their own Derag apartment buildings. The first Derag apartment building in Austria, Derag City Apartments, opened its doors in May of 2009. The modern building, centrally located between the baroque St. Charles’s Church and the world-famous Vienna State Opera, offers 30 comfortably furnished apartments from 43 to 84 square metres for stays of five nights or more. In the future, Derag Group is planning to further expand the Hotel and Living concept and strengthen their market leadership in the “temporary living” apartment segment by opening new locations at home and abroad.

Space & Style

Thanks to the strategic partnership with conwert, a leading specialist for developments of turn-of-the-century buildings, Lifestyle Living has premium properties in top city locations at their disposal for their boarding house concept. Since their foundation in 2005, they have successively expanded to the currently 200 serviced apartments at ten locations in Vienna. A central reservation office with flexible booking arrangements assists in the search for suitable accommodations. Offered are fully furnished, distinctly decorated apartments, including the latest information and communication technology and 24-hour concierge assistance, which guarantees a pleasant stay thanks to its numerous services. Compared to the Lifestyle Living houses, List Group’s “Singerstraße 21/25” apartment building is one of the old stagers in the serviced apartment business. At this address near St. Stephen’s Cathedral, four categories of elegantly furnished apartments have been offered since 1995. The accommodation offer is completed by two exclusive top-floor maisonettes with terraces. Wolfgang Epple, Managing Director of the centrally located apartment building, counts business travellers, diplomats and artists as well as extended-stay tourists and short-term local residents among his guests. [ IN ]