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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.”