Who owns the corporate stay?

The corporate accommodation ecosystem spans property owners, operators, agents, corporate housing providers, TMCs, RMCs and mobility companies, all ultimately vying for influence over the corporate client and guest. Yet two recent deals suggest that the boundaries between each function are becoming considerably less clear.

Following the merger with Synergy Global Housing, SilverDoor has just launched its directly managed portfolio of serviced apartments, Synergy by SilverDoor. The portfolio has launched with flagship properties in London, Dublin, Silicon Valley, and New York, with future growth targeted across the US and Europe. Each apartment is leased and operated directly by SilverDoor.

Similarly, CORT Business Services has acquired Dwellworks Living. The combined business will operate as Dwellworks Living by CORT, providing temporary living services for corporates, business travellers, and relocation companies. Dwellworks will increase its focus on core destination and other relocation support services, maintaining a strategic partnership with the new entity. 

Here are two businesses – an agent and a furniture provider – moving closer to the operational product and controlling more of the customer journey. While this may ruffle some feathers among pure-play operators, companies that assume greater control of supply also take on greater complexity and risk. Managing apartments is a fundamentally different ball game from distribution or supplying furniture, which may explain why recent activity is yet to generate much concern among established operators. 

This also isn’t the first time businesses have tried to straddle multiple parts of corporate travel ecosystem. National Corporate Housing, BridgeStreet and Oakwood have all, at different points, combined corporate housing and distribution capabilities with directly controlled or operated accommodation. Oakwood was acquired by Ascott in 2022, while BridgeStreet filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The models have had different outcomes, but they show that the boundaries between agency, corporate housing and operations have never been entirely fixed.

If we’re starting to see this trend emerge again, with businesses moving across the value chain, then operators must consider whether they are simply selling apartments or solving a corporate living problem. The competitive landscape may evolve from siloed services to providing a broader but integrated solution.

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