This report covers two distinctly different types of lodging products – branded serviced apartments and branded residences. Serviced apartments or ‘aparthotels’ (generally known as extended-stay accommodation in North America) are self-contained living units that typically rent out by the week or month as opposed to one or several nights like standard hotel rooms. Corporate housing, which is an important market in North America, is typically leased out on a monthly basis and competes to some extent with extended-stay hotels.

This report covers two distinctly different types of lodging products – branded serviced apartments and branded residences. Serviced apartments or ‘aparthotels’ (generally known as extended-stay accommodation in North America) are self-contained living units that typically rent out by the week or month as opposed to one or several nights like standard hotel rooms. Corporate housing, which is an important market in North America, is typically leased out on a monthly basis and competes to some extent with extended-stay hotels.

Meanwhile, branded residences are freehold properties – either apartments, houses or villas – either attached or freestanding. The market for branded residences has shrunk somewhat with the financial crisis and recession, which have both sapped the buying power of the high net worth individual (HNWI) customer base and eliminated much of the liberal financing that was available before the sub-prime crisis hit in the summer of 2007. (It should be noted that various forms of fractional ownership – private residence clubs or destination clubs – are not covered in this report, as they were already the subject of a recent special report, Timeshare and Secondary Residences, March 2009.)