New Office Opening in Shanghai Strengthens Synergy’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) Regional Presence and Becomes the First International Temporary Housing Organization to Invoice in Fapiao

San Ramon, Calif., October 15, 2018—Synergy Global Housing (Synergy) today announced that the company has opened a new local office in Shanghai, China. This additional location in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region builds on the organization’s existing strong presence in Singapore—where Synergy’s APAC Global Solutions Centre is located—while advancing the company’s mission of transforming the hospitality ecosystem on a global scale.

As a prerequisite to offering an end-to-end solution in China, a serviced accommodations provider must be able to bill and issue fapiao invoices.  Synergy has achieved an industry milestone and has become the first international temporary housing organization to not only bill in local currency, but also invoice in fapiao.

Synergy has a team already in place ready to assist and to meet customer needs and global travelers with a demand for serviced accommodations in China.  Synergy’s new office space is located in the CapitaLand Tower inside Ascott China’s headquarters.  Synergy, along with its parent organization Ascott, together will now provide one of the largest concentration of serviced apartments throughout China, particularly for Tier 1 and Tier 2 options.

“The launch of our Shanghai office not only adds to our global footprint, but it also gives us ‘boots on the ground’ to support the local clientele in China,” said Henry Luebbert, Co-Founding Partner of Synergy Global Housing. “We’re extremely excited about what this international expansion means for the company’s future in the APAC region and beyond, and more importantly, its impact on our mission of transforming the global hospitality ecosystem.”

One of the biggest benefits of the new Shanghai location is that it gives Synergy a significant advantage over industry competitors: the ability to invoice in fapiao, a Chinese tax receipt that is required to be sent from a local office in China, rather than from locations outside the country.  Synergy Global Housing’s Shanghai office can now bill in the local currency, while allowing global clients to work with one company—Synergy—rather than many smaller local destination service providers (DSPs) in China.

Fapiao—which are official invoices registered at the local tax bureau used for tax deduction purposes—contain detailed information including the trader’s tax code, address, telephone number, and bank account information. Synergy has proven experience, and recently billed its first invoice in fapiao.

There are multiple advantages to fapiao invoicing for Synergy’s clients, as individuals need fapiao to reclaim business expenses, while companies must record all business transactions on a fapiao. Fapiao invoicing additionally allows companies to be reimbursed for taxes paid on housing rentals.

“Our clients are thrilled about our China office opening because we’re taking away several of their biggest pain points when working with global corporate housing providers,” explained Diana Ong, Managing Director of Global Solutions for the company’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. “In addition to the benefit of reimbursement of taxes from fapiao billing, our clients will no longer have to deal with small local providers, which is much more convenient.”

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About Synergy Global Housing

Synergy Global Housing (Synergy) brings a superior furnished housing experience to the business travel and workforce mobility industry; providing best-in-class serviced accommodations in more than 50 countries across the globe. Synergy has Global Solutions Centers in: Dublin, Ireland; Hyderabad, India; Singapore; Shanghai, China; New York, New York; and San Ramon, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County, California. Through people, passion and innovation, Synergy delivers boutique services, custom-tailored to meet each client’s individual needs, on a worldwide platform. To learn more, visit www.synergyhousing.com.

Synergy is a member of The Ascott Limited (Ascott), a Singapore company that has grown to become one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Spanning more than 170 cities across over 30 countries, Ascott’s serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott, Citadines, Somerset, Quest, The Crest Collection, lyf, HARRIS, FOX HARRIS, YELLO, POP!, Préférence and HARRIS Vertu. Ascott is a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited (CapitaLand), one of Asia’s largest real estate companies headquartered and listed in Singapore. Ascott boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide. For more information on CapitaLand and Ascott, please visit www.capitaland.com and www.the-ascott.com.