Manilow Suites

Corporate Housing

Archive for the month “February, 2012”

What About the Corporate Housing Guest?

All of our apartments are personalized for each individual guest.

Isn’t it amazing that so many corporate housing companies show pictures of apartments and have long lists of items the housekeepers should check (which of course is important), but very few temporary housing companies take the time to find out what the guests really need. Many times, the guest doesn’t know anything other than a location and possibly the size of an apartment.

Let me give you one recent example: Last week I had a call from a client who needed an apartment for a couple with two children.  Meeting his request for the closest location would have been most inconvenient for his family. The closest location to his work is in the heart of downtown Chicago, which completely lacks any facilities for children.   I suggested another location which is only 5 minutes further, but it would be far more convenient for his family. It has a playground, and with so many children living in the building, they have “play dates” in the hospitality room.

Sadly, too few corporate housing companies take the time or have the staff dedicated to truly finding out about the guests and suggesting better alternatives that may be more suitable to their needs.

www.manilowsuites.com 

~From the Desk of Francine Manilow~

Corporate Housing – What It’s All About

Our beautifully appointed apartments are only outmatched by our responsiveness and flexibility.

What is corporate housing all about?

32 years ago, Manilow Suites was the first company in the United States to offer short-term housing. My frustration then was to prove to middle management, “no, we are not a rooming house!”

Now the greatest frustration is, “corporate housing can mean so many different things.” I just realized that I am doing very little on our web site to really show the incredible difference. We all talk about the building and apartments, but very little do we talk about the flexibility, responsiveness and quality.

A friend of mine has been an RN in a well-known Chicago area hospital for quite awhile. When I asked “would she be a patient there,” she surprisingly said, “no.” Her reason was that there were not enough doctors and nurses to take care of the number of patients.

Now, I know I am stretching it a bit comparing corporate housing to a hospital, but when a top executive yesterday had trouble hooking up his Mac to our Wi-fi,  a Manilow Suites staff member was in his apartment within the hour. What price do you put on that? Manilow Suites has more staff members per number of apartments so that we can respond better and faster than any competitor.

~From the iPad of Francine Manilow~

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