The company's first Locke by SACO property will open on Leman Street in Aldgate, London in October where it will offer 168 apartments, a gym, two bars, an all-day dining restaurant and lounge space. High speed wi-fi will also be offered throughout.
SACO sales director Ben Harper told BigHospitality the new brand had been created to better serve the needs of travellers looking for an experience combining aspects of boutique hotels and serviced apartments. While Locke's apartments will offer traditional kitchen and bathroom areas the company also plans to design sites to reflect the local neighbourhood's culture.
"Locke has been created in recognition of the fact that travellers and travel are changing. It’s not necessarily the millennial debate – it’s not an age thing - but we are seeing an influx of tech businesses into London and every financial hub globally and they do tend to think differently about where they want to stay," he said.
Disruptors
Harper said the serviced apartment sector had the ability to meet the needs of travellers who were increasingly opting to use industry 'disruptors' such as Airbnb.
"Airbnb in the vacation rental space has done us a favour and given travellers more choice and swayed their thinking away from a traditional hotel into alternatives and we see ourselves as a bit of a challenger in this space," he said. "We’ve seen hotels launch more ‘lifestyle-led’ experience but no-one in the serviced apartment world has leveraged this opportunity yet."
Bristol-based SACO currently operates and manages a portfolio of over 900 apartments in cities across the UK and has expanded rapidly since merging with Oaktree Capital Management’s serviced apartment platform, CL Serviced Apartments last year. The company is already planning expansion of Locke into key cities in the UK and the rest of Europe.
SACO CEO Stephen Hanton said: “The serviced apartment sector is the fastest growing part of the hospitality industry and we have developed Locke to offer today’s travellers the best of a design-led hotel experience with at-home independent living.
“SACO’s mission is to reshape hospitality, and we are continuing to develop innovative concepts, using extensive research, and feedback and involvement from thousands of our customers."