Corporate business for European aparthotel operator Staycity Group has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the company announced this week at the Business Travel Show Europe, with like-for-like occupancies for Tuesday and Wednesday nights back to 2019 levels for the year to date. 

The Dublin-based group added that mid-week bookings for June 2023 are also showing a 10 per cent increase on June 2019. 

Meanwhile, the company’s managed business segment has seen a like-for-like increase of 93 per cent on room nights (YTD). 

However, the booking patterns of business travellers have changed, according to the group, with longer stays, an increased requirement for desks in apartments and shorter booking windows. 

The average length of stay has increased by 35 per cent from 2.3 days to 3.1 days, while the trend to book within 8-14 days of travel has increased by 86 per cent compared to 2019.

“It’s fantastic to see our business travellers return, albeit with different needs and booking patterns,” said Staycity chief commercial officer, Paula Mullaney. 

“Our corporate guests are no longer willing to share apartments. They are also looking for changes in our offering, for example, separate work desks to dining tables to support working from the apartment,” she added.

As a result of the increase in corporate demand, Staycity, which recently reached a new milestone for annual turnover, said it plans to introduce a new room type – a 24-sqm studio with a dedicated work area and more storage – which will become 40 per cent of the company’s inventory “in time”.