Travelers often find hotel rooms to be expensive and too small to be comfortable after a week or two. The corporate housing industry has sprung up to provide an alternative: Furnished serviced apartment accommodations are offered so that business people and others staying in a city for a month or more can rent short-term corporate suites in the city. part of the city that is preferred by the client. Some executives prefer peace and quiet, while others like to be close to the action.
The city of Toronto is a destination that most Canadian businessmen will visit at some point if they are business executives. Most major corporations have offices in Ontario’s capital, so there is an endless flow of airport traffic, plenty of quality hotels, and countless restaurants to cater to visitors. For some, the cost of a hotel room of approximately $300 per night is not the main problem when the company budget is large; executives, however, have greater privacy needs and may not want to dine out for every meal.
The corporate housing solution provides furnished apartments in condominium buildings with all the comforts they are used to at home. The apartments are twice the size of hotel rooms, allowing visitors to relax and settle in. It is doubtful that anyone would yearn for the formalities of living in a hotel after being in office meetings all day. A hotel room is little more than a place to sleep and shower. The need to leave the room usually results in a trip to the living room or other public place to be with other people and thus get less work done.
The average cost of a corporate suite is about $150 a night, so for half the price you get double the space plus closets, couches, kitchens, dishwashers, washing machines, internet access, dishes, parking, sauna, gym, and more. swimming facilities in the building – everything that can meet the needs of someone who has to be away from home for several months. Chances are they work on the laptop most of the time in these days of telecommuting and remote virtual offices.
The companies that organize these suites find suite owners who will be away or who rent units for profit and place them in the reservation system that customers can access online. Photos of the suites can help guests choose their preferred decor. The corporate housing business makes a marginal profit in normal times, but businesses in Toronto suffered losses in the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak when, in April of that year, the World Health Organization advised that all but essential travel to Toronto should be avoided due to the huge Chinese population coming and going from their home country, possibly spreading the disease. This was magnified to near quarantine levels and destroyed the tourist trade for many months.
The scare turned out to be nothing substantial, but the effect on the city’s economy was deep and lasting. So was the fear of touching door handles, eating in restaurants, being in crowds, shopping in stores, and shaking hands with people. The domino effect seemed to cost everyone money. Toronto was so paralyzed by fear of SARS that a concert called “Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto” with the Rolling Stones and AC/DC was organized to help revive the city’s tourist trade.