Synergy Global Housing hosted a Partner’s Summit for its Dublin-based providers last week at our EMEA Global Solutions Centre in Dublin, Ireland. Hosted by the EMEA Managing Director Suzanne Smith, the Summit brought together several inventory partners from Dublin for an open conversation on ways we can improve the level of service provided to our clients and guests through a mutually beneficial discussion on industry best practices and process improvements.
Having some of Synergy’s most trusted partners all under one roof allowed the organizations to hear the same message at the same time, leading to a transparent discussion where all parties could identify shared values and form interdependent solutions to challenges. Two priority topics discussed were the continued documentation of consistent standards of quality in all units and the future of corporate stays in Ireland.
Quality Assurance
Synergy takes a proactive approach to ensuring a consistent level of quality in each apartment it offers. This can be a challenge when serving business travelers and assignees across the various nations and regions within the European continent. Each area within Europe offers unique differences with housing in regards to bedrooms, size and amenities. Dublin is no different.
These variations exist because of differences in regional cultures, available inventory and the need for our partners to provide housing that is consistent with their own personal brand standards. By hosting our partners all at the same time, Synergy was able to have a strategic dialogue for maintaining consistency in each unit, while allowing our partner brands to continue standing out. The summit reinforced what checklist items would be consistent in all units, while allowing for each partner’s individuality to shine through.
The Future of Corporate Housing
Also discussed at the EMEA Supplier Summit were serviced apartment trends in Ireland and beyond. Communal living and working spaces, known as Pod Living, is becoming increasingly popular in Europe. Another emerging trend is that Amsterdam is seeing an increase in the number of apartments that incorporate the Japanese concept of moving walls.
Evolving regulations aimed at curtailing websites that allow private individuals to rent out entire homes or single bedrooms via booking websites, such as AirBnB, VRBO and others, especially in Dublin, were also discussed. Dublin is a growing market, and struggles to keep pace with economic developments during the last decade, and there is currently a housing shortage.
New regulations aiming to provide stability to Ireland’s housing market will likely impact how serviced apartments are able to operate in the future. Any successful regulations in Dublin are likely to be adopted in Europe’s other crowded markets as affordable housing becomes a growing concern for the entire continent.
To Synergy, the opposite of ‘more’ is not ‘less.’ If we care enough, the opposite of ‘more’ is actually ‘better’. Synergy cares enough about the guest experience to know that a better approach will enhance the guest experience rather more of the same. It is our hope that meetings like the one we organized in Dublin last week will make Synergy and its partners better in the future.
“Our EMEA Partner Summit was another industry first,” said Suzanne Smith, Synergy’s Managing Director for EMEA “We were fortunate to have all of our key Partners, who are competitors in the one room openly sharing business practices and experiences with each other. The collective goal of all present was to improve and standardize temporary housing across the city, ensuring that our guests have the best possible experience when staying in Dublin.”