Think Apartments to more than double units by 2017

The operator, which currently has 800 apartments across six sites in London, plans to manage and operate 2,000 apartments by 2017 with Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham target cities for growth.

Think Apartments chief executive Jim Souter, who took part in a discussion on Planning at yesterday's Annual Hotel Conference, said the company was benefiting from growing interest in the serviced apartment sector and had experienced its own high levels of growth. 

Occupancy across the group averaged at an annualised rate in excess of 90 per cent and average rate grew by 5.25 per cent for the year ending September 2013.

“We have seen significant growth in London over the past three years which we attribute partly to a growing awareness of the value and flexibility that the serviced apartment sector provides,” he said.

“Think Apartments operate the latest sales, distribution and revenue management systems enabling us to maximise revenues.”

David Curtis-Brignell, communications and brand lead at Think Apartments said he believed serviced apartments were the ‘next revolution in hospitality’ and had the ability to take market share from the budget sector.

“This is a revolution and there are so many reasons why, but one is that the sector is customer-led and provides for a variety of needs. Families, business guests and contract workers can all use it.

“People have always gone to budget hotels to save money, but if they want to stay for longer than one night, it doesn’t always pay, especially with some budget hotels now repositioning themselves to compete more with the mid-market.

“Customers are becoming aware that they can rarely get a room for £29 a night, so are looking for alternatives.”

Think, which operates properties on a lease basis from their owners, currently has apartments at Tower Bridge, Earls Court, Bermondsey, London Bridge, Kensington and Vauxhall with each site averaging 60 apartments.