Serviced Apartments Category Procurement Intelligence Report

Business Travel Accommodation market around the world is undergoing rapid transitions that have a massive potential to influence the way companies strategize for Serviced Apartments procurement and the cost they have to incur. Consumer markets are underpinned with apps and websites that offer a very friendly experience for bookings and cancellations - an experience that has not yet crossed over to the corporate segments. As executives grow more accustomed to self-planning and self-booking in their personal lives, they expect similar convenience in their business lives as well. In the absence of right tools and technologies, a lot of friction can be generated between employees looking for convenience and travel departments looking to enforce rules and policies.

The availability of advanced technologies has prompted travel and event service suppliers to heavily invest in them to improve efficiencies and customer experience. However, most have learnt that technology alone is not a replacement for the human touch when it comes to customer service. As a result, suppliers are spending on both counts - technology and customer service staff. Till the time a formula for perfect balance between the two is discovered, buyers should expect to bear some of this increased OPEX of suppliers.

As costs rise, companies will be pushed towards finding better cost efficiencies in their travel and entertainment programs. Buyers are leveraging new management tools to analyze the costs using a Total cost of trip/event approach as against cost of an individual trip/event cost item. It is now also expected of suppliers to assess the cost effectiveness of any service they provide from a more holistic point of view.

As market conditions become more dynamic and procurement practices get more sophisticated, category managers need to be cognizant of the best practices that work for their Serviced Apartments category procurement. The report offers a succinct analysis of Serviced Apartments procurement best practices.

For example, Buyers should seek collaboration with suppliers to identify demand patterns within the organization. This includes data sets for the time of booking, duration, and preference for time and days. Using such analysis, buyers can build a comprehensive corporate guideline and ensure that a specific set of service providers are used for services. Moreover, these data sets can be used to identify cost-saving opportunities.

Bundling of services allows buyers to mitigate the risks involved in managing multiple stakeholders for various aspects of travel and event management. It also offers buyers spend visibility and allows them to negotiate for better pricing during the procurement of services.

Suppliers often charge substantial fees for cancelation and rebooking. Buyers should negotiate for low prices on these aspects to realize direct cost-savings.

Serviced Apartments procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Serviced Apartments procurement. Some examples include: