This week we speak to Andrew Davis from Morgan Lodge who tells us about the serviced apartment industry boom, the saturation of accommodation in Canary Wharf and where his clients call home.
Do you think that many companies are relocating from the City to Canary Wharf? How have you found this to affect the serviced apartment industry?
I think there are. You’ve got a lot of the major banks around Canary Wharf like Barclays and HSBC and also many of the large insurance companies. There’s a lot of development going on there at the moment - the serviced apartment sector is overcrowded and the competition is very high.
Where are all these corporate clients coming from?
The majority of our clients are business travellers and about 10% stay with us for leisure purposes. I would say half of our corporate clients come from China and Singapore and half from Europe. Repeat business from most of our clients is varied but we have noticed that it's the same companies that book us through SilverDoor who keep coming back.
Do you think that people are becoming more aware of the benefits of serviced apartments over hotels?
Yes absolutely, just look at the prices of serviced apartments in Canary Wharf compared to the hotels. Now I’ve been working in the industry, I’ve seen the benefits of serviced apartments first hand and would always use a serviced apartment over a hotel. With an apartment you get a bedroom, a bathroom, a proper kitchen, a living room - it has everything.
Now for a quick fire round:
Would you rather have a penthouse in New York or London?
For long term, London. I’ve never been to New York but I would like to go for New Year’s Eve.
The City or Canary Wharf?
Canary Wharf to live and to work.
Boris bike or Boris bus?
Boris bus
