Ascott Enhances Profile in America

Ascott is enhancing its profile in the North American market through the formation of a marketing partnership with AKA, a luxury brand of serviced residences.

Ascott has also appointed the established Serviced Apartments Worldwide (SAW) as its sales representative in the United States.

Under the marketing partnership, AKA, which provides luxury furnished suites in prime metropolitan locations in the U.S., will refer its customers to Ascott when they travel out of America. Similarly, Ascott will recommend its U.S. bound customers to stay at AKA’s properties. The partnership will widen Ascott’s global reach to about 80 cities across the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East region.

Ms Carol Barron from SAW has been appointed as Ascott’s sales representative for the U.S. and Canada market. Ms Barron will be responsible for driving sales and promoting Ascott’s three brands of serviced residences – Ascott The Residence, Citadines Apart’hotel and Somerset Serviced Residence.

In a recent report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), U.S. business travel spending is expected to rise by about 5% year-on-year in 2013 to more than US$260 billion. For 2014, GBTA forecast total U.S. business travel spending to increase by over 7%.

Mr Tony Soh, Ascott’s Chief Corporate Officer, said, “We see tremendous potential in the North American market. Ascott’s serviced residences are located in key cities where many American multinational corporations have set up operations. Currently, these companies account for more than 30% of our corporate business and we expect this to increase. International outbound business travel from America is projected to rise and travellers are expected to stay longer, creating greater demand for serviced residences. We look forward to leveraging AKA’s U.S. network and SAW’s market intelligence to expand Ascott’s market share in North America and increase the scale of our business.”

Mr Larry Korman, President of AKA, added, “As more individuals are looking for flexible, long-stay living options, the demand for luxury serviced residences has increased worldwide. Partnering with Ascott was a natural fit for AKA since both brands have similar offerings and a deep understanding of the long-stay traveller needs and expectations. AKA's alliance with Ascott creates an opportunity for us both to expand our global reach and better serve our guests in these new markets.”

Sir Richard Rowley, Owner of SAW, said, “We are delighted to partner with Ascott as their exclusive sales representative in North America to promote their global industry-leading serviced residences. We look forward to working closely with international mobility and corporate travel networks to provide the best lodging solution for relocation and business travel needs. With Ascott’s global network and three distinct brands of serviced residences, this partnership will offer our customers more choices in selecting their ideal home away from home wherever they travel to.”

Singapore-based Ascott currently has more than 31,000 apartment units in over 200 serviced residences worldwide.