UK: SilverDoor hosted its 2022 Partner Engagement Day earlier this week in London. SAN brings you some of the key takeaways from the event.
Held at 30 St Mary Axe, in the City of London, the event marked the launch of a sister company for SilverDoor – new consultancy Ariosi.
More than 140 senior decision-makers from the agent’s network of over 4,000 property partners and clients were in attendance for an afternoon of presentations and panel discussions.
Some of the key points emerging from a series of panel discussions included:
• Many sections of the business travel market are thriving
“Covid really accelerated the market for serviced apartments. More serviced apartments stayed open versus hotels during the pandemic and we are hearing from our clients that they bring huge value in the business travel sector in the more flexible and personalised travel experiences they can offer: people have grown to love serviced apartments and many have never returned to hotels post-pandemic. 2022 was SilverDoor’s most successful year of business ever and our partners have multiple openings in the pipeline across all our global regions. This demonstrates that the corporate housing sector has not only bounced back, but really has come back swinging.”
Martin Klima, chief customer officer, SilverDoor
• “We’re experiencing an unprecedented level of investor resilience, sector maturity, institutional appetite and a narrowing yield gap between hotels and serviced apartments. Serviced apartments are no longer the poor cousin. The continuing increase in market share represents an opportunity for operators to improve performance and profitability.”
Joanna Cross, chief operating officer, Ariosi
• The supply chain is getting to grips with sustainability, but we need to shout about it more
“In the last 12 months we have seen a real sea change in the appetite for reporting on carbon emissions and footprint. Suppliers’ carbon footprint contributes to companies’ calculations and selecting suppliers who are demonstrating tangible reductions in their emissions is critical for companies in the race to zero. The first step to demonstrating this is by benchmarking where you are now and the advice and guidance to help them take that first step is out there and can be trusted.”
Toby Roberts, quality assurance manager, SilverDoor
• Clients are open to the ‘Greenium’
“We are often asked: is the corporate customer prepared to pay for the sustainability improvement premium? The resounding response is that the most forward-thinking companies increasingly are. However, our experience has been that, while, many property providers are making great progress with sustainability best practice they are not necessarily communicating these achievements effectively, or in a tangible, data-driven way. The industry needs to be better at shouting about what it’s doing from a sustainability perspective. We are comfortable telling businesses they need to pay more, and businesses are open to these conversations, but it’s critical they have the data to support those conversations.”
Alex Neale, group head of partner relationships, SilverDoor
• Clients want to work collaboratively with their suppliers
“We were hearing loud and clear that there is openness among Corporates, RMCs and TMCs to hear and share ideas about how the business travel and relocation industry can work better together to find solutions to challenges like rising rates and costs, emissions reductions, and traveller experience. There is a recognition that successful solutions will not be created in silos and there are places at the table for those who want to work together with authenticity and transparency.
Our clients report higher satisfaction rates when they get a choice and feel part of the process, they are keen to have these conversations with their supply chains and this gives us huge optimism that together we will meet the challenges and opportunities the coming year will bring.”
Victoria Jackson, senior marketing manager, SilverDoor
Trends and predictions for the year ahead
• Accommodation rates continue to be high and travel buyers need to recognise that the keen rates they were enjoying in 2020/2021 are really a thing of the past. Quarter 4 2022 rates are up 25% on the same period last year (Source: SilverDoor).
• The leisure and tourism sector continues to influence availability of accommodation, and the strong foreign exchange market for international travellers will keep occupancy buoyant into 2023. We predict volumes will stay healthy but a strong pipeline of new openings make for improved availability in primary locations in 2023.
“We expect greater cost scrutiny from clients will be seen over the next six to 12 months and we expect ‘discretionary’ and transient corporate travel – which has not returned to pre-pandemic levels anyway – to continue to be squeezed. The tech industry in particular had seen an explosion on global travel in 2022 however with recent price rises and severe staffing cuts in the news from Twitter and Meta, we may expect to see this slowing in 2023. Travel is a cost of doing business. Accept it.”
Victoria Jackson, senior marketing manager, SilverDoor
• Mindful travel is here to stay
“Sustainable travel is a massive consideration driving the trend towards fewer trips and longer length of stays; there is greater internal discussion at a corporate level on whether transient travel is necessary and whether on-line meetings are a substitute for in-person assignments. Clients are increasingly seeking a greener supply chain in order to reduce their own carbon footprints, meet their ESG targets and work toward net zero goals. The supply chain would do well to track, report and provide tangible data on their carbon reduction efforts, as well as their overall carbon footprint – starting now.”
Toby Roberts, quality assurance manager, SilverDoor
Seamless booking technology is key
“Technology is an essential component of business travel. Corporates want frictionless travel from their facilitators, including agents and property providers. Business travellers want more control of the booking process and increasingly clients are requesting self-booking capabilities. Our client panel unanimously agreed that there is a fundamental need for the serviced apartment sector to offer online booking capabilities on a broad scale.”
Hanish Vithal, chief technology officer, SilverDoor
• Clients have an insatiable appetite for data
“Clients are making more extensions to bookings than ever, placing considerable importance on agents’ data tracking and trend analysis to inform and educate property providers on these market shifts. Data analysis on supply, demand and rates will be key to directing resources in the right direction as we move into 2023. The corporate buyer is often pretty risk-averse and wants to make an informed choice, we can never have enough data, what’s happening in markets, spend insights and trends. Rate and availability data aids benchmarking at the highest level and corroborates price increases to reinforce the truth. We are comfortable telling businesses they have to pay more, and they are open to these discussions, but we need the data to support those conversations. Educating clients and managing expectations is paramount to helping them understand the reality of the market now.”
Alison Willis, client programme manager, SilverDoor
