Oakwood, long associated with corporate housing, is “reestablishing its brand,” according to CEO Dean Schreiber.
“People perceive us as a corporate housing provider,” he said, “but we are really a hospitality company.”
Oakwood, he said, has been growing rapidly in Asia but is shifting its focus to North America as it seeks to expand its eight brands. The company was acquired by Singapore-based Mapletree Investments in 2017.
“We are not just a serviced apartment company,” Schreiber said. “There are so many demographic groups looking for something new, and we are in a position to provide that.”
Oakwood shifted its focus toward hospitality management in May 2020, he said. Today, the group encompasses 80 properties and 13,000 units, including serviced apartments, residential units and hotels.
Brands include Oakwood Premier, Oakwood Hotel & Apartments, Oakwood Suites, Oakwood Residence, Oakwood Studios, Oakwood Beluxs, The Unlimited Collection by Oakwood and Oakwood Living.
Schreiber said all brands will be in North America except Oakwood Beluxs, a domestic China product that is expected to grow to 100 properties in 10 years.
The newest brands are: the Unlimited Collection, launched last December and comprising a portfolio of independent properties; and Oakwood Living, added in November and targeted at multifamily living with a focus on extended-stay accommodations. Overall, the group now has 17 properties in the U.S., with “a strong pipeline,” Schreiber said.
While the majority of the company's growth is planned through traditional fees-based property management agreements, Oakwood is open to exploring a franchise to provide owners and operators the ability to tap into its sales and distribution platform, Schreiber said.
Currently, Oakwood has franchise and augmented forms of licensing agreements with the Oakwood Apartments core brand in a couple of locations, including Thailand and Australia. In the U.S., efforts are being made to bring the Oakwood Apartments and potentially the Oakwood Living brands into the franchise market. Both of these are well suited to cater to the large stock of residential developments across the country, Schreiber said.
He said Oakwood's portfolio offers a well-balanced mix of long and short stays, which owners and developers recognize limits volatility in occupancy across cycles.
This has been particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented closure of thousands of hotels around the world, he said. Apart from locations where local authorities have ordered properties to close temporarily, all Oakwood locations have remained opened and operational to date, he said.
“We have not only witnessed continued interest from owners seeking to either convert existing hotels into serviced apartments or partnering with us on new development construction, but we have also seen a strong trend of serviced apartments developing as a preferred form of accommodation over traditional hotels,” Schreiber said.
As trends such as bleisure travel — mixing business and leisure — and remote work prove to be lasting, the offerings of serviced apartments play into the requirements of a work environment with the comfort and ease of home, he said.
The safest accommodations are the ones with the fewest touch points, and serviced apartment offerings provide exactly what is required in a personal, self-contained sanctuary, he said. Where it is legally possible, short-term rentals are welcomed at all brands, he added.
Sixty percent of guests at Oakwood properties stay for 30 nights or more. All properties offer a check-in desk, plus what the company calls “pampering” services available on request, such as grocery purchases and dog walking. Not all units have kitchens because they’re not needed for short-stay rentals, Schreiber said. However, there is tremendous flexibility with layouts that facilitate combining units. There are also good meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition opportunities in many locations, he said.
Schreiber predicts that in the near term — and industrywide — short stays will get longer and long stays will get shorter.
Business travelers will stay longer to see more clients or colleagues during a single visit, while two-year stays of the past will now be more like three months, he said. When it comes to the way people work and travel, he said, “I am not convinced we will go back to where we were before.”
All Oakwood properties are bookable with instant confirmation and dynamic pricing. Unlike some serviced apartment providers, Oakwood only manages full buildings — not units within a building. Additionally, he said, accommodations are much larger than standard hotel rooms. Some locations offer gyms and food and beverage.
Oakwood also is looking to incorporate “smart home” technology into its residences. This includes the adoption of "interactive customer experience" tablet devices and apps that allow guests to review property and destination information to plan their stays, order food and grocery deliveries as well as reserve tickets for local tours and attractions.
The most recent innovation, launched in June across all Oakwood Premier properties, is the Oakwood Premier Mobile Bar, which delivers evening cocktails and canapés to guests in their rooms.