Horses for courses

Ascott’s incredible growth shows no signs of slowing, and it’s interesting to see the company adopting a flexible approach to different business models in the various markets it operates in – certainly a case of horses for courses.

Its latest major move – the acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in Quest Apartment Hotels – brings its holding in the Australasian market leader to 80 per cent. Quest has more than 150 properties in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, many of them operated on a franchise model – not something you would associate with Ascott.

And although many Quest properties are located in central business districts, there also have a significant number of locations in suburban and regional areas with close proximity to company head offices and business centres.

The Quest acquisition comes just a week after Ascott signed seven new properties in China – its biggest single market, as well as listing around 15,000 serviced apartments on Alibaba’s online travel service platform Fliggy, covering its properties in more than 20 destinations most popular with Chinese travellers, such as Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris and London.

This is a company which is truly covering all the bases, and I await their next move with interest.