When CHI International executive director Pilar Morais considers taking on a new serviced-apartment project, whether it involves building from scratch or refitting an existing building, she usually has one main concern.
'Design is the most important thing,' she says. 'You see so many buildings where it isn't done right. You lose your storage space, you don't have a good flow through the apartment, you get off your bed and stub your toe on something.'
To avoid those pitfalls, CHI International knocks down all non-structural internal walls if it is refitting a building, as it did with its first four projects in Hong Kong. (It has since built a fifth from scratch in Wan Chai.) The company then marks out on the floor exactly where all the walls, hallways and major pieces of furniture will go.
'Obviously the plan is going to change over time, but we mark it all out,' Morais says. 'We have an idea in mind when we purchase a property as to what can fit, and when a designer is able to match that, everybody is happy.'
Anyone looking to design a residential property with clever storage space would do well to consider how serviced-apartment operators lay out and furnish their flats. They are the champions of practicality. Needing to combine all the facilities of a typical hotel room with the comforts of home, they ensure a long-stay apartment operates as a place not just to sleep, but also to work, eat, relax and play. The apartments also need a dash of style to set them apart in a competitive marketplace.
Cynthia Wong, director of Hanlun Habitats, which runs four serviced-apartment properties in the Mid-Levels, says location, looks and rent are the top factors that bring customers to the door. But it is design that will keep them - and the company has had guests stay for as long as five years. Guests want 'intelligently planned interiors that provide for comfortable living and working spaces', Wong says. Hanlun's flats range in size from 436 sq ft to 1,170 sq ft. 'The apartments must look good as well as being livable to keep long-term guests and bring return guests.'