Are Service Apartments the need of the hour?

Greater in-bound tourists of the discerning kind have lead to necessitating service apartments! Service apartments are now the need of the hour, not mere style statements between hotel and home!

The tourism industry in India is privy to a tidal wave-like changeover in terms of the demands and the supply of in-bound tourists to our home shores as rising expectations of foreign and Indian-origin tourists for quality lodging options, especially niche sectors like service apartments availability is on the rise. The nature of a service apartments is that it combines the best of both worlds any discerning hi-flier or busy corporate head may require, but with the growing need for comfortable, classy and temporary accommodation afforded by service apartments, there is still a gap to be filled by India offering wide-ranging choices for discriminating clientele from different parts of the world.

How the concept of service apartments as an ode to high-class hospitality caught on: a sneak peek-

With the bigger Indian cities playing host to a number of MNC's, IT companies and concept tourism, there has been a rise in the number of service apartment offerings beyond the initial extensions by Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Delhi for the motley lot of NRIs and foreigners. While for most takers of service apartments, the cost factor was not a major issue, the important aspects most guests at service apartments look for when considering this need of the hour lodging option is how well the establishment combines coziness of home, comforts and luxuries of a hotel.

Who's meeting the need of the hour for service apartment demands?

The answer to that is fast being provided by Star City in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a service apartments providing company that has six such properties and a Rs. 22-crore serviced apartments complex on Poonamallee High Road scheduled for 2007 opening. Besides them, Global Adjustments, Chennai, too is eyeing this lucrative market of expatriate relocation and is basing its service apartment facilities on the requirements of NRIs looking for quality temporary accommodation by way of their facility at Sriperumbudur, located on the telecom corridor next to the Nokia Special Economic Zone to house executives who want to avoid the hassles of commuting. Mumbai meets the challenge with Taj Wellington Mews, Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments, the Grand Hyatt Residences and the Grand Residences.

Manoj Gursahani is the Chairman of India's first ecommerce travel portal- TravelMartIndia. Visit the blog for more travel related issues, travel tips and destinations