Serviced apartments…or…we’ve had the volcano – what next?

If there is one certainty in every general election campaign it is that sooner or later politicians will start to tell us what they think the “real issues” are. We wouldn’t presume to define the difference between real issues and all those other issues that seem to occupy our MPs for the duration of each parliament. However, for many people around the world the “real issues” recently boiled down to “how do we get home”.

The eruption of the Icelandic volcano gave the press the opportunity to fill their writings and broadcasts with stories of brave citizens trying to struggle home. Our screens were filled with heart rending stories of travellers stuck abroad and running out of the necessities of life. Epic tales of marathon journeys across Europe proved that we are still a nation of explorers, bravely overcoming all odds to achieve our goals.

One group of people were sadly neglected in the telling of these tales. They were the visitors to this country who were unable to travel away from the UK and back to their loved ones. We understand that thanks to these visitors being stuck in the UK, some hotels in London were full and were forced to turn away potential guests.

One alternative to the hotels that the visitors may have considered is that of serviced apartments. These have changed radically in recent years and it is now possible to book apartments for any period from one night upwards. If you do have an apartment in London that you are looking to offer as a serviced apartment then one area which is very important is cleanliness.

With flexible bookings, you will need to make sure that you have someone on hand to thoroughly clean the apartment when guests move out and for it to be ready quickly for new guests. This clean will need to include a proper clean of kitchens and bathrooms and you should be prepared to deep clean carpets and upholstery at short notice in case of spills. Depending on the length of guest’s stays you will also need to arrange for beds to be changed and for the provision of clean towels.

Serviced apartments generally offer clients a minimum stock of basic foods and you will need to make sure that cupboards are replenished regularly. Some serviced apartments also offer a laundry and dry clean service. Finally don’t forget that you will need to have someone available to hand over and collect keys at the beginning and end of a stay.

Lastly, back to those visitors who were stuck in the UK and in London in particular. In these situations there are always winners and losers. Winners included restaurants and other areas of the UK as visitors decided to explore a bit more of our country. Losers included taxi drivers who lost all their fares to and from the airports. Let’s hope that the volcano has now settled down and we can look forward to a clean bright summer.