TODAY: Serviced apartment operators dare to be different, Shangri-La and more.

Serviced apartment operators embrace growth as they dare to be different.

As the branded serviced apartment sector becomes increasingly crowded some operators are moving away from the original extended-stay concept by embracing short-stay guests and adding a variety of facilities to their offer.

While most established hotel groups now have an extended-stay product, with some expanding through franchising, the majority of operators manage, own or lease properties. Other more distribution-focused groups have increased their portfolio of managed properties.

Shangri-La breaks ground for third property in Fujian Province.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced the development of a new urban resort in Fujian Province at a groundbreaking ceremony in the Chengxiang District of Putian. Scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2020, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will be the group’s third property in Fujian Province, following Shangri-La hotels in Fuzhou and Xiamen.

Business travelers expect to manage travel on all devices.

The 4th edition Egencia Business Travel and Technology Survey additionally finds nearly half of global business travelers want perks such as in-flight Wi-Fi to stay productive.

Instead of incentives such as priority boarding and airport lounge access topping business travelers’ wish lists, the study revealed travelers are looking to technology to make the corporate travel journey more productive and manageable.

Featured Articles....

Leadership Lessons Learned From Being A Guest When The Hotel Was Overbooked.

In a predictable over-book situation and leadership should never have left their poor frontline workers to face it alone. A lack of leadership is probably why this hotel has so much turnover that two of four staffers on that shift were wearing “trainee” badges. Had the executive leadership team pro-actively managed this situation, it would have played out completely differently.

Four Ways to Optimize Your Employee's Bleisure Experiences.

Thirty-six percent of U.S-based business travelers have done a bleisure trip at least once, so it is important to be prepared when one of your company’s employees decides to take a bleisure trip. According to GBTA’s study in partnership with Hilton, there are a variety of ways in which companies can improve their employee’s travel experience while aligning bleisure travel with their own goals.

Here are four ways you can make the most out of a bleisure trip, both improving the traveler experience and ensuring bleisure travel remains aligned with company goals.

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