Corporate housing delivers
Vancouver businessman says part-time quarters fit bill. By Patricia McConnon For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution www.ajc.com |
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The corporate housing Rick Hingson has found in Atlanta makes good business sense, he says. Having a corporate apartment here saves time and money. “I fly in and go right to work,” the Vancouver, British Columbia, resident says. He says, ”I wanted to live in Buckhead because our company is downtown and there are many great restaurants” where he can bring his wife and college student son. He called several companies that specialize in corporate housing, then settled on Fred Lemon & Associates. Then he was in an apartment the next day. “They were great,” Hingson recalls. “I had limited time to shop for an apartment, but I wanted to see it firsthand. I liked it and called them back. We closed the deal by fax.” Now he now considers Paramount Buckhead, a 40-story high-rise, his second home because his company bought a business in Atlanta, and |
Hingson’s job as integration officer brings him to town often while he helps blend the new business into the parent company. “There’s no fear of a glitch in a hotel reservation,” he says with relief. “I get off the plane and come home – then up in the morning and go off to work.” Hingson quickly discovered the benefits of leasing a furnished apartment compared with a motel room with kitchen. He has a concierge, fitness center and a decorated home that even includes granite counters in the kitchen. “The corporate agent put the whole deal together. I wanted the phone, furniture, linens, utilities, cable, down to the coffee maker.” It all added up to “no worries,” he says. “From Day One, it was done!” Corporate apartment packages usually are offered in a menu format: You can pick just the ideas you need or go for the whole package, including housekeeping. Christine Dachraoui of the Lemon agency says the average stay is about 76 days at a rate of $85 a day. |
Dachraoui says the corporate housing industry is about 45 years old. “When you think about it, we’re in our infancy compared with the hotel industry, and really that is our competitor; but there is now a world wide demand for the service, and we have repeat clients from all over the globe.”
Fred Lemon, whose company works with about 60 communities in the Atlanta area, says he has seen the demand for corporate housing grow since he started the business in the mid-1980s. But some things never change: Clients still want to get in fast- and have no hassles then or while leasing. So “if the cable goes out, we chase the problem and get it corrected,” Lemon says. “It’s the same if we’re leasing to a client with a corporate budget or a family transfer. You walk in and it’s set up, whether it’s for a month or three years.” For a checklist of housekeeping essentials and more information about corporate apartments in metro Atlanta, visit www.fredlemon.com. For nationwide or worldwide contacts regarding corporate housing as well as statistics on the industry, visit www.chpaonline.org. |