Branded!

Just this week we’ve heard about the imminent opening of Banyan Tree’s Cassia brand in Thailand. Aimed predominantly at leisure and vacation travellers, and borrowing its sales model from the thriving serviced residence market, Cassia is to be rolled out to locations including Indonesia, Australia and China.

In the US, Furnished Quarters is preparing for the opening of its first Q&A apart-hotel in Manhattan, as an alternative to its more traditional corporate housing offer. It has also recently introduced the FQ Select “ultra luxury” brand.

And last year BridgeStreet Global Hospitality divided its offering in to six distinct brands to reflect sector fragmentation and consumer expectation.

The message is clear – the days of a “one size fits all” approach is over, and as serviced apartments guests diversify and leisure/business travel boundaries continue to blur, we can expect to see the wave of new brands continue to grow.