In this article the difficulties of reaching industry standardisation across the serviced accommodation sector is discussed by Louis Cooper of SilverDoor.

Industry standardisation has long been a source of debate in the serviced apartment sector but what are the arguments surrounding this crucial topic?

The greatest benefit to the serviced apartment industry from standardisation would be an increase in confidence. Industry standardisation would allow for an industry-wide ratings system to be implemented by a ‘governing body’ which would benefit agents through the reliability of regular, independent inspections. Such a system would be a very important development for the serviced apartment sector, making it more accessible and potentially increasing corporate and private adoption of the serviced apartment concept.

Despite the above benefits, achieving standardised ratings will have its obstacles. Firstly, variation between each unit is broad and hard to categorise. Secondly, there is a large variance throughout the serviced apartment sector as to definitions of quality. An apartment may have the highest quality décor & furnishings but lacks practical appliances like a dishwasher. Another may be cramped and poorly equipped yet have a first class in-building gym and bar. If both were given an overall rating of 68 per cent, it just wouldn’t be a fair reflection of what to expect. In order to be effective, the system would have to be comprehensive enough to factor decor, quality, facilities and location into ratings, whilst making allowances for individuality. This is no mean feat.

In the global hotel industry, for example, which has existed for much longer than its serviced apartment counterpart, a universal standard of classification has yet to be properly established and unanimously accepted. This is primarily due to the differences in star ratings from country to country as the hotel sector has struggled to alter ratings to resemble globalization. This concept involves developing and adapting products to reflect not only a global standard but a local one too. The fact that such an established industry has yet to overcome these issues is indicative of the difficulties the serviced apartment sector may face with any attempt at global standardisation.

If standardisation is unrealistic and to a degree undesirable, what action should serviced apartment providers take? Providing as much detail as possible about the features of individual apartments, along with large quantities of high quality images and videos will go a long way towards reassuring clients and informing apartment agents. At SilverDoor we have implemented our own ratings system, grading properties between one and five rosettes based on the facilities and services that we know our clients value most and on the overall quality. We also take care to provide as much information as possible and make clear the distinctions that exist between individual apartments. In this way, we make serviced apartments accessible to all of our clients and help them to realise the vast potential of this ever-growing sector.

Source: Press Release SilverDoor & Re:locate Magazine feature

Subject: Standardisation in the serviced apartments sector