By Tay Suan Chiang

While the hotel industry has been hit by the economic downturn, serviced apartments - which come with their own kitchens, suiting professionals on short contracts who want a homely environment - are on a roll.

Two developments, totalling 204 rooms, have opened this year and two more with 675 rooms altogether will open within the next three years, all outside the city belt.

The latest to open is the 50-unit Fraser Place Fusionopolis located in the heart of Singapore's thriving research and development scene at JTC Corporation's Fusionopolis@one-north research hub at Buona Vista.

The serviced apartments, which are on levels 17 to 19 of the park's 'Symbosis' Tower, opened last Wednesday and rates start from $6,300 a month.

The other serviced apartment development to open this year, in January, was the 154-unit Citadines Singapore Mount Sophia off Selegie Road, bringing to about 30 the number of such developments in Singapore.

Rates at Citadines start from $2,660 a week for a studio apartment.

Like Fraser Place Fusionopolis, the two upcoming developments see being located at business parks ideal for securing residents who want to live near their workplace.

The 370-room Park Avenue@Rochester is set to open in 2011 at one-north while the 305-room Park Avenue@Changi will open in 2012 at UE BizHub at Changi Business Park. UE BizHub has retail and business space, and a convention centre.

Serviced apartments are a popular choice with expatriates. Bigger than hotel rooms, they provide a home away from home, being fully furnished including a kitchen and coming with housekeeping services.

They differ from hotels in that the minimum stay is seven nights.

The new Fraser Place Fusionopolis certainly seems to have hit the right note with its target market.

Although it opened just several days ago, its general manager, Ms Tonya Khong, told Life! at the opening that it had already received many bookings. An earlier report on the opening said it had bookings that translated to a 60 per cent occupancy rate.

She is not worried about opening in a downturn. 'There are no other serviced apartments in this area and we have a new market here,' she says.

The development is targeted at researchers, academia and professionals who work nearby.

It is managed by Frasers Hospitality which has two other such properties in Singapore - Fraser Suites in River Valley and Fraser Place in Robertson Quay. Frasers Hospitality is the hospitality arm of Frasers Centrepoint, a subsidiary of Fraser and Neave.

The complex boasts the first all-loft residences in Singapore, with one-bedroom units ranging from 495 sq ft to 1,066 sq ft.

Its first guest is Swedish professor Jan Carlstedt-Duke, director of Medical School Project at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He checked in last month even before it officially opened.

Prof Carlstedt-Duke, whose lease will end in December next year, says its location is ideal for him as his job requires him to travel between the NTU campus in Jurong, the nearby Ministry of Education and Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Moulmein.

Over at the other new kid on the serviced apartment block, Citadines Singapore Mount Sophia, Mr Gerald Lee, CEO of its owner Ascott Hospitality, says it stays ahead of the game by giving customers what they want.

'In this current economic climate, residents are looking to get more value for their buck,' he says. At Citadines, guests pay only for services that they want such as extra housekeeping services.

Occupancy rates at Citadines are now at about 90 per cent. Mr Lee adds that 'the global slowdown has also brought opportunities for Citadines as business travellers become more cautious with their spending and look for options that give them greater value for their money and flexibility'.

One resident, Mr Kevin Ho, 41, who has leased a one-bedroom apartment, says he was attracted by its stylish and spacious look. The monthly rate for a one-bedroom executive apartment is $9,200.

The managing director at an investment bank, who is from Hong Kong, says: 'I like the apartment's minimalist look.'

Apart from a bedroom and wardrobe, his apartment has a sofa bed and a work desk in the living room.

Home away from home

As for the two upcoming serviced apartment projects, they are being developed by United Engineers and its managing director, Mr David Liew, says this new breed of guest-stay complex seeks to serve a particular business hub.

'They can better cater to the needs of the hub dwellers or visitors, not just in terms of facilities and amenities, but also special packages relating to length and terms of stay.'

Overall, the serviced apartment sector here has an occupancy rate of about 75 to 80 per cent compared with 50 to 60 per cent for hotels.

The length of stay can vary from three months to a year or more.

While newer developments are opening away from the city area to meet new demands, it is the service factor that guests place a premium on, say those in the industry and guests themselves.

For example, the Pan Pacific Serviced Suites in Somerset Road prides itself on being the only serviced suites accommodation to offer 'round-the-clock personal assistants to provide residents local and reliable connections to the city, so that they may feel at home immediately', says Mr Fabien Lindsay, its general manager. The 120-room complex opened in April last year and has an occupancy rate of over 80 per cent.

Singaporean housewife Sharon Wells has been living at Fraser Suites in River Valley with her husband, Mr Sultan Alfaheem, a senior vice-president of a petrol chemical company, for the past six years.

The couple, who are both in their 40s, have two school-going children. They moved into their three-bedroom penthouse when Mr Alfaheem was posted to Singapore from Abu Dhabi.

She likes that everything she needs, from the supermarket to the hair salon, is in the same building. She declines to say how much the apartment costs. But monthly rates for a three-bedroom apartment at Fraser Suites start from $14,500.

The couple had considered renting or buying an apartment but decided against it.

Ms Wells says: 'If I need a lightbulb changed, I just pick up the phone and the apartment gets cleaned regularly. Where else can I get such convenient service?'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.