If you’re relocating, you may – for any number of reasons – need to find short- or long-term temporary accommodation. The choice can seem daunting. But don’t despair! In many cases, the growing serviced accommodation sector can provide the ideal solution.

Serviced accommodation is a rapidly growing industry in the UK. It is not a new phenomenon: serviced apartments have been available here since the 1980s and are highly popular in countries such as the USA, Australia, South Africa and Singapore.

Accommodation can range from deluxe to functional, with everything in between. This is an ideal solution for anyone on the move, such as:

• Expatriates waiting to go into longer-term rented accommodation
• Employees on short-term assignments
• UK families waiting to move into their new home
• Business commuters working away from home on a project or commuting weekly

Organisations get happier ‘roving’ workers with mondaytofriday.com

Mobile and remote workforces continue to grow across all industries throughout the UK. In 2007, 46% of firms enabled staff to work remotely or from home, compared to just 11% in 2001; while the average amount of time spent working in a corporate office fell from 55% to just 18% in the same period. (Source: CBI, 2007).

Continually working away from home can be a lonely, expensive and costly existence; but online property rental service mondaytofriday.com offers a practical compromise for ‘nomadic’ professionals who continually work away from their home base during the week on secondment or assignment – generally for many months at a time, at the same location.

A new scheme is set to rate serviced accommodation – but will the system tell those using it what they really need to know? By Anna Lambert.

From the end of June of this year, anyone receiving information from serviced accommodation providers may notice a new logo on the literature they receive. This, together with a number of stars, will denote how the accommodation has been rated by Quality in Tourism, an independent company that Visit Britain – the UK’s tourist organisation – has hired to assess those serviced accommodation providers that sign up to the scheme. Lorna Keen is Chairman of the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP). She says, “This is a very exciting development for the industry, and one that’s been in gestation for the last couple of years. The growth in popularity of serviced accommodation – not just for corporates but for tourists, too – plus the growth in the number of apartments on offer meant it was time to find a way of assessing apartments, so the clients know what they’re buying into.”

Flexibility and value for money are just two of the advantages serviced accommodation can offer those on short-term assignments – with luxury a distinct possibility, too. Anna Lambert assesses the options.

For a versatile solution to short-term home-finding problems, serviced accommodation is hard to beat. Though hotels can be luxurious and convenient, they can also smack of enforced anonymity, of living out of a suitcase. Today, what ten years ago might have been seen primarily as an option for tourists travelling with their large families has become the smart choice for everyone from new graduate recruits to CEOs of leading blue-chip companies. “What we’re able to offer,” says Richard Majewski, marketing manager of Executive Roomspace, “is a home-from-home environment, where clients can enjoy privacy and space but with everything they need to make life pleasant and practical – from a bottle-opener to broadband connection. Meanwhile, the HR team that’s responsible for sorting out where the employees are staying knows that they’ve got a cost-effective solution that’s far less hassle to arrange than, say, the short-term lease of a flat.”