All cards are on the table. What's your pick?
All cards are on the table. What's your pick?
The aparthotel segment has become one of the most relevant formats for meeting the changing expectations of today’s travellers: more space, greater independence, and a level of flexibility that traditional hotels don’t always offer. For hoteliers, this hybrid model is a genuine opportunity to diversify their property’s offerings, optimise revenue, and attract new guest profiles, especially for medium and long stays.
But what exactly is an aparthotel, and how can this hybrid model fit into a modern hotel strategy? In this article, you’ll find a clear definition of an aparthotel and an overview of essential aparthotel characteristics, helping you understand why this format is gaining ground and how to make it work effectively within your property’s strategy.
An aparthotel is a hybrid type of accommodation that blends features of traditional hotels with those of serviced apartments. In practical terms, an aparthotel offers apartment-style units – typically equipped with a kitchenette, living space and a separate sleeping area – while also providing core hotel services such as reception, housekeeping, maintenance, dining options, and digital services.
These aparthotel characteristics are designed to meet the needs of guests who value both independence and comfort during their stay, whether for business or leisure. It has been a growing segment of accommodation types in hospitality.
This format is especially appealing to travellers looking for independence and comfort during their stay, particularly for medium or long stays. While a standard hotel room is often optimised for short trips, the aparthotel caters to broader needs: cooking, working, entertaining guests, or simply enjoying more freedom day to day.
For hoteliers, understanding what an aparthotel is means recognising a distinct service offer logic: here, the perceived value is as much about space and facilities as it is about the quality of service. This approach lets you cater to a wide range of guests – business travellers, families, digital nomads, short-term expats – while broadening the possible uses from one-night stays to several weeks. By focusing on key aparthotel characteristics, hoteliers can offer targeted solutions for various guest profiles and boost the flexibility and appeal of their property.
While not all aparthotels are exactly the same, they do share a set of key characteristics that define this hybrid model. For hoteliers, understanding these points is essential – not only for positioning your property in the market but also for optimising guest experience and profitability.
Unlike a standard hotel room, an aparthotel offers a space designed for much more than just sleeping: a lounge area, sometimes a desk, and a separate bedroom zone. These aparthotel characteristics cater to guests who need to work, cook, entertain visitors, or stay for multiple days in a row. For hoteliers, this requires extra attention to layout, modularity, and robust furnishings that will stand the test of time.
This is a core element of the aparthotel concept. Having a kitchenette – even a compact one – fundamentally changes how guests use their space. It gives them greater independence and makes self-catering much easier, which can also reduce the strain on traditional food and beverage services. For hoteliers, this opens up various opportunities to fine-tune their aparthotel offering: from rethinking F&B services, establishing local partnerships, and implementing digital room service, to creating upsell options linked to the kitchen facilities (like breakfast kits or grocery delivery). These aparthotel characteristics not only add value for guests but provide hoteliers with flexibility to innovate around services and revenue streams.
An aparthotel is not simply a furnished holiday let. It’s built around core hotel services, but with far greater flexibility:
This flexibility allows you to adjust the level of service depending on the length of stay, budget, or guest profile, while keeping operational costs in check. With these aparthotel characteristics, you can better match your offering to actual demand and optimise your aparthotel’s performance.
One of the major strengths of the aparthotel model is its ability to accommodate a wide range of stays – whether it’s just one night, a few days, several weeks, or longer. This flexible approach is one of the key aparthotel characteristics that makes it popular with a diverse audience, from business travellers and families to digital nomads and those relocating temporarily. For hoteliers, this means greater potential to smooth out occupancy rates across the year and better respond to actual market demand.
The typical aparthotel guest is looking for a balance of independence, comfort and reliable services. Once they find a good fit, they’re likely to return – especially for regular business trips or longer assignments. For hoteliers, there’s strong potential for guest loyalty if your aparthotel services are aligned and well digitised. Prioritising these essentials helps build a positive reputation and encourages repeat bookings, particularly among business travellers seeking consistency for recurring stays.
Longer stays, flexible services and the layout of each unit mean that operating an aparthotel requires a different approach, which leads to more predictable costs and better income stability:
All these elements often result in a more stable cost structure and greater predictability of revenue for your aparthotel. By tailoring services to guest needs, hoteliers can better anticipate operational requirements and maintain consistent performance throughout the year.
These characteristics clearly set the aparthotel apart from a traditional hotel. While a standard hotel is mainly focused on overnight stays and immediate services, an aparthotel covers a much broader use of the accommodation: independence, more space, flexibility, and the option for longer stays. This hybrid approach attracts a wider variety of guests and changes the way the property is managed, with more adaptable scheduling, simplified dining options, and greater use of digital tools.
The rising interest in aparthotels goes far beyond just a passing trend. It reflects major changes in the market and growing demand for more diverse accommodation options. For hoteliers, this format is a strategic opportunity across several levels, especially when you focus on core aparthotel characteristics.
Firstly, an aparthotel helps to stabilise occupancy rates thanks to its ability to attract medium and long-stay guests who are less affected by seasonal variations. That is particularly appealing to business travellers on extended assignments, digital nomads, families, or people relocating temporarily – all looking for a place where they can genuinely settle in and make themselves at home.
Secondly, the aparthotel model offers a more flexible cost structure, where services can be adjusted according to the length of stay. This could mean less frequent housekeeping, streamlined or reimagined food and beverage options, and increased use of digital tools for guest interactions. It also helps make operations more predictable, often more profitable, and gives hoteliers greater flexibility to optimise performance.
The aparthotel also meets the growing need for differentiation in a highly competitive hotel market. It offers clear positioning: more space, more independence, all within the professional and secure framework of hotel hospitality. This is a combination that not only appeals to guests but also encourages loyalty. By leveraging autonomy and flexible services, your aparthotel stands out, attracting guests seeking comfort and the freedom to make themselves at home, all while delivering a high standard of service.
Finally, the aparthotel format paves the way for new commercial opportunities: long-stay offers, local partnerships, additional services, and digital upsells – all valuable sources of revenue that enrich the traditional model and strengthen the overall value of your aparthotel.
With the rapid growth of the sector, standing out is essential if you want to attract discerning guests and build loyalty over the long term. A successful aparthotel is not based solely on the amount of space offered; it stands out through a consistent, high-quality offering, a strong guest experience, and its ability to meet evolving needs. Your property can gain real appeal for guests considering longer stays or seeking more independence.
One of the first levers to set your aparthotel apart is the fit-out of each unit. A well-designed space – light-filled, functional, and intelligently equipped – instantly adds value. Practical aparthotel features like an ergonomic kitchenette, a comfortable workspace, or cleverly planned storage boost the all-important “home away from home” feeling long-stay guests are after.
Next, service flexibility is a crucial factor: cleaning on request, flexible dining options, local partnerships (such as grocery or meal deliveries and co-working), as well as additional services specifically for extended stays. The more tailored and adaptable the guest experience, the greater the perceived value of your aparthotel.
Communication also plays a crucial role. Travellers need to quickly understand what sets your aparthotel apart: independence, comfort, essential hotel services, and a genuine local experience. A clear digital presence, consistent visuals, and well-crafted messaging are vital for attracting the right guests and highlighting your aparthotel’s unique characteristics.
Finally, digitalisation and automation are now a must-have across the sector. Smooth check-in and check-out, centralised guest requests, automated responses, and proactive messaging all contribute to a stronger guest experience and optimise operational workload. For aparthotels, these digital tools play a key role in shaping essential aparthotel appeal, making life easier for both staff and guests. This is where solutions like HiJiffy bring real value: by streamlining communication before, during, and after the stay, they help teams save time and deliver a more responsive, personalised service that aligns perfectly with modern aparthotel expectations.
The aparthotel model has firmly established itself as a practical solution for meeting the evolving needs of travellers and the operational goals of hoteliers. Offering greater flexibility, improved profitability, and the ability to attract a broad guest base, aparthotels make it easier for your property to stand out in an increasingly uniform marketplace, appealing to both business and leisure guests alike – and bleisure travellers too.
For hoteliers, integrating or developing an aparthotel means paving the way for more consistent operations, improved revenue predictability, and a modern guest experience. When combined with a focused digital strategy – especially by using automation tools – this format becomes a strong, lasting competitive advantage for your property.
An aparthotel is a hybrid property that combines the independence of an apartment – think extra space, a kitchenette, and a dedicated living area – with the essential services you’d expect from a hotel. This blend of aparthotel characteristics makes it particularly well-suited for medium and long stays.
An aparthotel offers more space, greater independence and a much wider degree of flexibility when it comes to length of stay. A traditional hotel, on the other hand, is generally aimed at short stays and structured services. Each model answers different needs, but aparthotels are especially suited for those looking for extended stays and a home-like environment.
Because they offer the freedom to live much as you would at home, but with the comfort and security you expect from a hotel. You can cook, work, host visitors, or settle in for several days – this flexibility makes aparthotels a firm favourite among business travellers, families and digital nomads.
Yes, provided the building’s structure allows for it. Many hoteliers choose to convert part of their rooms or an entire floor into fully equipped studio units, adopting key aparthotel features. This approach can be a powerful way to diversify your guest base and extend the average length of stay at your property.
They certainly can be, especially due to longer average stays, a more flexible cost structure, and the ability to offer adaptable services. However, profitability for an aparthotel depends on positioning, location, and operational management.
At a minimum, every aparthotel should feature a well-equipped kitchenette, a comfortable workspace, flexible cleaning options, responsive maintenance, and smooth digital communication. Additional services – such as coworking spaces, local F&B partnerships, or grocery delivery – further increase the perceived value of your aparthotel.
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Funding:
This project received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Contract No. 782509.
