Archive for the ‘home away’ Category
Corporate Keys – your home away from home
Business traveller Shane Baker doesn’t mind staying in serviced apartments in Melbourne, but there is no place like home. That is, until he discovered Corporate Keys apartments.
When Baker spent three months on a project in Melbourne late last year, he chose not to stay in a serviced apartment but to try Melbourne corporate housing provider, Corporate Keys.
“It’s certainly more relaxing than staying in a hotel or a serviced apartment in Melbourne”, he says, “there is room to work from home, to cook, to entertain, to invite friends to watch a movie on Foxtel – it really is like a home away from home”.
Serviced apartments in Melbourne range in quality and price, but for a three month stay expect to pay between A$150 and A$250 per night. Melbourne has one of the world’s busiest events calendars, and serviced apartments in Melbourne are often completely booked out a year in advance at premium rates at these times, meaning that longer term residents may need to move out and find other accommodation.
Corporate Keys Melbourne accommodation uses residential apartments which are around twice the size of the leading serviced apartments, but are available for as little as A$100 per night. Like the top end serviced apartments they are fully furnished, all utilities are included, commercial hotel grade linen and towels are provided and kitchens are equipped with every appliance and utensil found in the typical home.
“I like the fact that I can just move in and everything is there” remarks Baker. “Because I was living there for three months, I wanted to be able to walk around, stretch out, relax and not feel that I was getting ‘cabin fever’. The lap pool and gymnasium were another great feature for me – it’s like living in a house inside a serviced apartment building or hotel.”
Unlike Serviced apartments in Melbourne, Corporate Keys apartments are available only for a minimum stay of 28 nights, and cannot be pre-booked months in advance.
“This is how we keep the price lower than Serviced apartments while keeping the quality higher” says Bruno Torres, Corporate Keys’ Business Development Manager. “By keeping occupancy high we are able to provide great apartments and great service for a very competitive price”
Hotels and the very best serviced apartments in Melbourne do have an edge in certain areas, such as daily maid service, 24 hour room service and valet parking. But Shane Baker doesn’t see any downside to the Corporate Keys service: “you don’t have a maid interrupting every day, you can go out to great Melbourne restaurants nearby or you can cook at home or order a pizza. You can book a weekly clean if you like and there is under cover parking available in the building. Any drawbacks are insignificant compared with the convenience and cost savings.”
Business travellers today are relatively sophisticated in their accommodation choices but not all have discovered Corporate Keys corporate housing as an alternative to serviced apartments in Melbourne.
“The corporate housing industry is still relatively new in Melbourne” says Torres, “having emerged only in the last ten years. But once a business traveller discovers these spacious apartments, they develop a strong preference for them over serviced apartments for stays over 28 days. They are often surprised with the higher quality of furnishing, house-wares and linen over leading brands of serviced apartments. For stays of less than 28 days in Melbourne, serviced apartments and hotels are the way to go, but for longer stays Corporate Keys apartments are fast become the accommodation of choice.”
“‘Being away on a three month assignment can be stressful”, adds Baker, “but with Corporate Keys, it feels like home.”
A Home Away From Home: How to Make That Extended Business Trip an Experience to Enjoy
As the well-known mantra goes, ‘choose a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life’. And it’s difficult to argue with this sentiment. Except, very few people are lucky enough to find themselves in a position where their job also happens to be their life’s passion.
Indeed, for many people, finding a job where the positives outweigh the negatives is the reality of their situation. But even then, the negatives may not be all that bad.
Countless employees the world over spend days or even weeks away from home on business. At first, this can be a great part of the job, staying in nice hotels, eating out every night and even travelling to places they have never been. But the novelty of living out of a suitcase usually soon wears off, especially after extended periods of time, and it can be very tiring for the person involved.
Not only will they miss their family and loved ones, but the reality of living between a hotel restaurant and a hotel bedroom can get very tedious and it’s no match for the warmth of a family home.
Having to live and work in the same confined space is not ideal. Being able to prepare a coffee in an allocated kitchen area as well as working in a dedicated office area with a proper desk and all the necessary internet and telephone connection ports shouldn’t be underestimated. And simply having room to move around can improve an extended stay away form home immeasurably.
New York State, for example, is a popular destination for business travellers. Even out with the perimeters of New York City, there are countless other towns and cities within the state that are home to some of the world’s biggest corporations. Buffalo – New York’s second largest city – boasts numerous ‘Fortune 500’ organisations, such as Ford Motor Company, Northrop Grumman, General Mills, and many more.
In this situation, an extended stay hotel in buffalo, for the many corporate clients that will inevitably be drawn there, is no doubt the best way to spend valuable company and personal time. Not only will the individual appreciate the home comforts and generous living area, the improved sense of personal wellbeing is sure to have a positive knock-on effect for the company too.
So, whilst many people may never find that perfect, life-affirming job, it’s still possible to minimise the impact of any negative aspects of the job. Many corporate travellers on extended business stays would benefit greatly by living in a more spacious environment with proper facilities, truly helping to create a home away from home.
Campervan Hire: Have a Feel of Home Away From Home
Giving a feel of home away from home, campervan provides both transport and sleeping accommodation while you are on holidaying. This self-propelled vehicle mainly describes vans that have been fitted out to serve the purpose of accommodation. Because of smaller size and handle more like a van, these vehicles are considered Class B recreational vehicle or motorhome. Campervan hire is a fantastic way enjoying ones holiday to the fullest.
Typically, campervan comes either with a “pop-up” roof that can be raised during camping or it comes with a fixed high top roof. Toyota Landcruiser 4WD campervan goes one step ahead and include a small kitchen with a gas or electric refrigerator along with a two-three burner gas hob and grill. Sometimes, campervan also remains equipped with dual-voltage lighting that is capable of serving dual purpose. You can hire campervan of all types.
It can work off either a dedicated battery (other then van battery) known as a leisure battery, or off the AC power, supplied at campsite via a hook-up cable. In the UK class B recreational vehicles are commonly known as Dormobiles or caravanettes. The trend of using campervan started in the 1950′s. It was after Volkswagen commissioned the Westfalia Company to use the Kombi version of their Type 2 transporter as the basis for a campervan.
Since hiring a campervan for a holiday in UK or all over Europe, many of the agencies offering service on this sector. It may seem a little expensive at first when you compare it with the cheap holiday packages, but it comes in good stead for those who do not want to stay in hotels and doesn’t want to be tied to a particular area. compervan hire may cost you a little extra, but it will make your holidaying exceptionally easeful and highly convenient.