The Value of Globally-Local Expertise and Supply in Corporate Housing
Global travelers and professionals on assignment need accommodations that are safe, affordable, convenient, and commutable to the office or job location.
Covid-19 has expanded that list of requirements to include housing accommodations that are extra-hygienic and provide an expanded sense of duty of care to the guest/traveling professional (and sometimes family).
As travel volumes pick up, and corporate travel and global mobility clients authorize more activity for their global workforce, how can they be assured that all these demanding requirements will be met?
Why is local corporate housing expertise the answer?
The housing option of ‘first resort’ for most corporate travel managers and global mobility program owners for stays of a few nights are brand-name hotels and properties.
But post-pandemic, as new ways of work and travel take hold, a likely travel pattern will be fewer trips of longer duration.
Why?
Sustainability and less stress on the carbon footprint is one reason, and the ability to nurture a closer connection between ‘home’ and ‘headquarters’ without necessarily having to make the physical move is another.
The new challenge is where to source these housing solutions…whether in a high-priced city-center market, a new operations/headquarters location, or a remote, less-trafficked site.
How does Dwellworks Living work as a housing solution partner?
As a housing solution and service partner to both Fortune 500 and emerging businesses, Dwellworks Living has the unique capability to deploy a footprint of consultative experts in hundreds of markets to engage local properties and landlords and build out a supply chain that is broader and deeper than that of any other corporate housing company.
The business model of many corporate housing companies is anchored in asset management: their first fiduciary obligation is securing tenancy for their properties and contracted inventory.
Our business model is different.
We deliver solutions: ‘what do you need, where do you need it, and according to what specifications and price?’
Our 15+ years of experience in global home finding, lease negotiations, and destination services to source and select well-managed properties for globally mobile professionals means we can find options beyond the brand name.
The local landlords know us. We literally speak their language because we work in the same locations and interact regularly.
Our ‘locality’ enables us to present new and select housing options that are unknown or unavailable to other companies with different priorities or capabilities.
How did we achieve global mobility and sustainability success in China?
A case in point is our Dwellworks Living solutions operations in China. Most corporate short-term/temporary housing needs in China are fulfilled through serviced apartments and high-priced global brands.
We are happy to have these options in our supplier portfolio: we never restrict choices for our clients.
But there are also instances when a client has an upcoming group move or seeks housing to be managed on a long-term rotational basis, or when companies are expanding to third- and fourth-tier cities, where housing options are limited.
Last year, a client needed help finding housing for newly onboarded professionals participating in a training program and moving between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Housing is always a challenge in China, made even more so by the newly emerging impact of the pandemic and the cost and proximity requirements of the request.
In order to find suitable options, Dwellworks activated its Destination Service Consultants in both locations and also sought the input of locally based real estate agents operating in each city.
An initial list of 8-10 locally managed properties per location was compiled from these recommendations, which was ultimately narrowed to 4 approved options.
‘The 4 options were then scrupulously quality-checked through Dwellworks Living supply chain procedures and vetted as a potential supplier for the client project. Following our quality checks, these locally owned and managed properties were officially onboarded into our supply chain.
They delivered the right type of facilities, environment, health/hygiene standards, and price points required for this project.
In total, between these custom-sourced options and our existing Supply Chain, Dwellworks Living was able to present a total of 6 properties in Guangzhou and 7 in Shenzhen to our client.’
As Dima Lorenz, Dwellworks VP, APAC notes in our new video series, Peer-to-Peer, in conversation with Sales Director David Holt, Dwellworks Living’s decision in 2019 to secure a VAT FAPIAO for real estate and property management services, as a foreign-owned entity, was a crucial, significant investment that further enabled us to put our local experience across China at the service of clients needing both short- and long-term housing and to do so at potentially significant tax advantages for the corporate customer.
With the FAPIAO and our local network of connected experts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and dozens of other key markets across China, we are able to secure housing and support client expansion, consistent with our solutions commitment.
5 LOCAL INSIGHTS FOR CORPORATE MOBILITY SUCCESS IN CHINA
- Research the depth and experience of your local partner resources
- Engage with local experts for successful program and policy design
- Ask for alternative housing options – not just ‘standard ex-pat offerings’
- Leverage local experts for local negotiation
- Get consultative advice on the proper and advantageous use of fapiao
For more information on China solutions and case studies on the globally local difference of Dwellworks Living, contact us here and subscribe to our video series.
Read our blog, A Buyer's Guide to Corporate Housing to learn more about the various types of corporate housing providers.
Dwellworks Living: Global Solutions for Corporate Accommodations
Dwellworks Living is committed to providing our clients and their employees with the best possible corporate housing and serviced accommodations experience. With a global network of property partners, a tri-regional team of customer experience and supply chain professionals, and a wide range of services for global mobility and travel customers, Dwellworks Living can provide the perfect corporate housing solution for any need or budget.
Dwellworks Living is the global corporate housing solution of Dwellworks, an award-winning, business-to-business provider of global mobility and business travel services. As a global leader in corporate housing and serviced accommodations solutions, Dwellworks Living is uniquely positioned to meet the temporary living needs of businesses and their employees who are relocating or traveling on short-, medium- or extended-stays. With 60,000 high-quality professionally managed properties in over 125 countries worldwide, Dwellworks Living is the preferred housing solutions partner of many Fortune 1000 and leading relocation management companies.
Dwellworks Living's corporate housing and serviced accommodations solutions are designed to help businesses attract and retain top talent, support employee productivity, and ensure a smooth and successful relocation or business travel experience. In addition to our core global accommodations management services, Dwellworks Living, through our worldwide network of local experts, is uniquely capable of offering our clients expanded and related services, such as area orientations, group move assistance, destination services and intercultural training.
Whether you have corporate housing needs for an individual employee or a large team, Dwellworks Living can provide the serviced accommodations solutions you need anywhere in the world to ensure a safe and successful stay. Please contact us to learn more or visit our Properties page to begin your search for global corporate housing accommodations.