Serviced Apartment Hotels Are A Better Alternative to Airbnb

Today’s solo travel story will show you where you can find serviced apartment hotels in Europe. Let me start from the beginning: I first noticed serviced apartment hotels during my travels in Australia. This accommodation concept worked really well for me, because these hotels offer larger rooms in comparison to a standard hotel room including a fully functioning kitchenette. Additional services such as launderettes and daily housekeeping are part of the experience, too.

Having used serviced apartment hotels in Australia on a frequent basis, it got me thinking that these are actually a much better alternative to other popular accommodation concepts, such as e.g. Airbnb. Lately it seems there’s not a day gone by without an Airbnb horror story circulating on the net. The never-ending string of complaints range from extortionate cleaning fees to safety concerns. It’s worrisome and alarming. Plus Airbnb severely affects the housing market in some cities. Vienna, for instance, issued a lawsuit against Airbnb and successfully won the case.

If you travel long-term or would like to stay in a location past the standard two week holiday period, I can highly recommend renting a serviced hotel apartment. For the past two years, I’ve kept my eyes open for serviced apartment hotels in Europe and which brands will establish themselves in the hospitality scene.

Disclaimer: my blog post uses affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The link is clearly marked with an *. Thanks!

What Are Serviced Apartment Hotels? 

I first came across serviced apartment hotels during my stay in Australia. These hotels offer more than a mere standard hotel room and I found the studio-like flats a pleasant experience. Ever since, I have continuously searched for and actively decided to stay in hotels catering to long-term stays.

Serviced apartment hotels, often also called “hotel residences” or “serviced living” are fully functioning hotels with studio-sized flats. The apartment comes with standardised furnishing and additional facilities, such as a kitchenette. The hotel experience comes with regular room cleaning services, security and includes launderettes. 

Some hotels brand themselves with the catchphrase “your temporary home” to appeal to visitors who plan on staying long-term. The intention here is clear and these hotels want their guests to settle for a while. Therefore, the target audience are remote working professionals and travellers. I personally find serviced apartment hotels to be a wonderful alternative to Airbnb as they provide a couple of excellent benefits without disrupting the housing market. 

Serviced Apartment Hotels in Europe are not: holiday rentals for short-term (stay under two weeks). This is an intended “home away from home” stay but with the luxury of a hotel service and standardised rooms. When I talk about serviced living and serviced apartment hotels, I mean specifically built and designed hotels with a long-term staying guest in mind.

The Benefits of Serviced Apartment Hotels in Europe

• 4* or 5* Hotel complex with 24h reception
• Fully furnished and equipped apartments
• You can make yourself at home and get a taste of what living in the target destination would feel like
• Hotel services such as daily housekeeping, safe, gym/spa/pool, free towels/toiletries, security
• Launderette with washing machines & dryers 
• Lower day rate the longer you stay
• No extra costs as WiFi, electricity, heating and water are included 

Here is my detailed living experience with a serviced apartment hotel in Austria. I rented an apartment at the serviced apartment hotel JOYN in Vienna during the summer 2022. Unfortunately, in the meantime, JOYN was acquired by Adina.

Serviced Apartment Hotel Review: Adina Serviced Living Vienna

Formerly known as JOYN Vienna, now acquired by Adina Serviced Apartment Hotels, this hotel in Vienna’s Belvedere Quartier is perfect. It’s near the central station and the Belvedere art museum, right where the fourth and tenth district meet. You’ve got everything nearby – supermarkets, restaurants, and chic offices. Plus, it’s safe, and you can walk to the first district in 25 minutes or take the tram or metro.

The Adina Serviced Apartment Hotel is new, with a reception, a small gym (unfortunately not 24/7), office spaces, and a lobby. The apartments are modern studios with a king-size bed, kitchenette, and bathroom. The kitchenette has a fridge, mini freezer, and dishwasher. Laundry’s in the basement, operated with the WeWash app.

The apartments are spacious and comfy, with weekly cleaning. I loved the bed with built-in outlets and generally designed to fit my needs. It was usually quiet at the hotel, but I noticed some kid noise now and then. Overall, the staff were friendly, and it’s been a great stay. 

To this day I have very fond memories of it, not just because of its convenient location, but also as a safe, budget-friendly Airbnb alternative, with hotel perks, giving me both privacy and a local experience.

Book: Adina Serviced Living in Vienna*

Read: My review of the Hotel Capri Brisbane in Australia

Serviced Apartment Hotels in Europe: a New Travel Trend?

Whilst serviced apartment hotels and hotel residencies are fairly common in other parts of the world, they are slowly integrating themselves in the hospitality landscape in Europe. During the past two years, I’ve kept a close eye on the development and can share the following hotel brands that offer this specific accommodation concept: 

Luxury: Adina, Frasers Hospitality

Mid-tier: JOYN (only in Cologne), Rioca, Numa Stays

Budget: Smartments

Serviced apartment hotels in Europe exist and some of the forefront countries to embrace this concept are the DACH & Eastern European countries. BeNeLux countries mostly test hybrid models (hostel/hotel) such as pod hotels e.g. CABINN and City Hub.

Serviced apartment hotels in Europe as such aren’t necessarily “new” or “highly innovative”. The accommodation concept has existed for a long time, but it has certainly received an update for our Millennial generation. The hotel apartments are way more affordable and designed to cater for our digital needs. 

During the Berlin Travel Festival, the concept of serviced apartment hotels was discussed as a “top” travel trend. One of the brands that wants to establish itself on the European market is Numa. Numa’s Co-Founder Inga Svinhufvud Laudiero shared some insights on the travel demands of Millennials and Gen Z which I found supportive of my argument that serviced apartment hotels are the future and a great accommodation alternative to Airbnb: 

• Kitchenettes are a booking driver: Gen Z and Millennials are 10% more likely to book accommodation with a kitchenette in comparison to the Boomer and Gen X generation. A modest kitchenette is already enough to convince them to make a booking.
• Longer stays are growing in popularity: reservations longer than 21 days are 4x more common among Millennials than Boomers and Gen X. The trend seems to be spreading among Gen Z as well – over the last three years, bookings for longer stays (more than three weeks) have quadrupled.
• Design as a top priority: 86% of Gen Z and Millennials say aesthetic design is the most important feature for their accommodation space. Also essential: little extras. 77.5% do not want to do without free minibars, beauty products (toiletries) or free snacks.
• Digitalised processes wherever it is possible: this includes a digital check-in via the phone (85% of Numa guests value a quick and hassle-free online check-in) and communication via Whatsapp (64% Millennial and 58% Gen Z) which guarantees a 24/7 support. Gen Z in particular uses this service for requesting late check-outs.

Be aware of co-living

Spain & Portugal see a small brand called “Be Casa” operating in Madrid, and a few digital nomad co-working spaces offer an additional room (co-living). Madrid in particular, has lots of co-working spaces that offer co-living apartments. These aren’t the same as a hotel though. Co-living spaces are often run like premium student accommodation (same vibes & noise) and reviews reveal these are often operated poorly and not great advocates for the serviced living trend.

Be careful when you search for “serviced living” options as there’s a lot of crossover with the co-living accommodation concept. 

Here is an honest Selina review by my content creator colleague Claire.

Making of “Serviced Apartment Hotels in Europe”

Here are some insights into my work and research when I compiled this post:

• Stayed at a variety of serviced apartment hotels in Europe and Australia, paid at my own expense
• Filtered out similarities and differences in service
• Researched serviced apartment hotel concepts and chose them actively for my travels
• Kept abreast with the developing trends by attending travel conferences
• Spoke to industry leaders and reflected on their views & observations
• Developed my content over the span of two years to provide enough research and perspectives

FAQs about Serviced Apartment Hotels

I understand this is quite a lengthy post and you may have some quick questions about serviced apartment hotels in Europe as an Airbnb alternative. You can, of course, always come back to any section of my post and read in more detail what you’d need for your trip. If you have questions or need help, please get in touch and I’m happy to assist. 

Where can I find the best Serviced Apartment Hotels?

This is a developing trend in Europe and unfortunately for now you’d have to check back regularly and keep up to date with the emerging trend. Not all serviced apartment hotels offer great deals or are serviced apartments as such (often disguised as co-living with a feel of an upgraded student-to-professional accommodation). More times it is likely you’ve found a co-living space in a digital nomad community. That’s not the accommodation concept I’m promoting here. I will make sure to update my post as regularly as possible so you get the best hospitality brands that support serviced apartment hotels. 

Are Serviced Apartment Hotels in Europe expensive?

Serviced apartment hotels usually get a cheaper day rate the longer you stay there. The day rate can vary and be dependent on the city you’d like to stay in, too. An ideal period would be anywhere from three weeks to six months. The day rate* can be as little as 40€, on average at about 80€ in more luxurious hotels. Anything close to or above 120€ is a joke and I advise you to keep looking. This applies to solo travellers, and the price point is obviously different for a couple. Please also note, day rates reflect the pricing policy of a hotel and are not to be mixed up with the average price per sqm rate as it is customary with city rents.

*Day rates based on my personal experience having stayed at JOYN Vienna, Capri by Fraser Brisbane and Felix Suiten in Leipzig (2020/2022)

What are other benefits of a Serviced Apartment Hotel?

The travel trend shows that this is the preferred accommodation model for business travellers and remote professionals. Serviced apartment hotels are specifically built for travellers. The respective tourism sector of a destination will invest the city tax contributions and will reinvest those into developing the touristic infrastructures. Therefore you contribute to the development of the destination overall. Unlike Airbnb, there are no extra extortionate cleaning fees or additional drama. I personally do not support Airbnb as I feel the model destroys the housing market and drives out locals from their communities. My post doesn’t intent to shade Airbnb in any way or those who use it. It is to show you that there are accommodation alternatives out there that might be worth considering for your future trips. 

Thanks so much for reading. If you’ve enjoyed my post on serviced apartment hotels in Europe and would like to support my blog & research, you can do so via Buy Me a Coffee.

Till next time,

Carolin

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