Global travelers and professionals on assignment need accommodations that are safe, affordable, convenient, and commutable to the office or job location. Covid-19 has expanded that list of requirements to include accommodations that are extra-hygienic and provide an expanded sense of duty of care to the guest/traveling professional (and sometimes family). As travel volumes pick up, and corporate travel and global mobility clients authorize more activity for their global workforce, how can they be assured that all these demanding requirements will be met?

Local expertise is the answer. The housing option of ‘first resort’ for most corporate travel managers and global mobility program owners for stays of a few nights are brand name hotels and properties. But post-pandemic, as new ways of work and travel take hold, a likely travel pattern will be fewer trips of longer duration. Why? Sustainability and less stress on the carbon footprint is one reason, and the ability to nurture closer connection between ‘home’ and ‘headquarters’ without necessarily having to make the physical move is another. The new challenge is where to source these housing solutions…whether in a high-priced city-center market, a new operations/headquarters location, or a remote, less-trafficked site.

As a housing solutions and service partner to both Fortune 500 and emerging businesses, Dwellworks Living has the unique capability to deploy a footprint of consultative experts in hundreds of markets to engage local properties and landlords and build out a supply chain that is broader and deeper than that of any other corporate housing company. The business model of many corporate housing companies is anchored in asset-management: their first fiduciary obligation is securing tenancy for their properties and contracted inventory. Our business model is different. We deliver solutions: ‘what do you need, where do you need it, and according to what specifications and price?’ Our 15+ years of experience in global home finding, lease negotiations and destination services to source and select well-managed properties for globally mobile professionals means we can find options beyond the brand-name. The local landlords know us. We literally speak their language because we work in their same locations and interact regularly. Our ‘locality’ enables us to present new and select housing options that are unknown or unavailable to other companies with different priorities or capabilities.

Case in Point: China

A case in point is our Dwellworks Living solutions operations in China. Most corporate short-term/temporary housing needs in China are fulfilled through serviced apartments and high-priced global brands. We are happy to have these options in our supplier portfolio: we never restrict choices for our clients. But there are also instances when a client has an upcoming group move or seeks housing to be managed on a long-term rotational basis, or when companies are expanding to third- and fourth-tier cities, where housing options are limited. Last year, a client needed help finding housing for newly onboarded professionals participating in a training program and moving between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Housing is always a challenge in China, made even more so by the newly emerging impact of the pandemic and the cost and proximity requirements of the request. In order to find suitable options, Dwellworks activated its Destination Service Consultants in both locations and also sought the input of locally based real estate agents operating in each city. An initial list of 8-10 locally managed properties per location was compiled from these recommendations, which was ultimately narrowed to 4 approved options.  

‘The 4 options were then scrupulously quality-checked through Dwellworks Living supply chain procedures and vetted as a potential supplier for the client project. Following our quality checks, these locally owned and managed properties were officially onboarded into our supply chain. They delivered on the right type of facilities, environment, health/hygiene standards and price points required for this project. In total, between these custom-sourced options and our existing Supply Chain, Dwellworks Living was able to present a total of 6 properties in Guangzhou and 7 in Shenzhen to our client.’

As Dima Lorenz, Dwellworks VP, APAC notes in our new video series, Peer-to-Peer, in conversation with Sales Director David Holt, Dwellworks Living’s decision in 2019 to secure a VAT FAPIAO for real estate and property management services, as a foreign-owned entity, was a crucial, significant investment that further enabled us to put our local experience across China at the service of clients needing both short- and long-term housing, and to do so at potentially significant tax advantages for the corporate customer. With the FAPIAO and our local network of connected experts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and dozens of other key markets across China, we are able to secure housing and support client expansion, consistent with our solutions commitment.

5 LOCAL INSIGHTS FOR CORPORATE MOBILITY SUCCESS IN CHINA

• Research the depth and experience of your local partner resources
• Engage with local experts for successful program and policy design
• Ask for alternative housing options – not just ‘standard expat offerings’
• Leverage local experts for local negotiation
• Get consultative advice on the proper and advantageous use of fapiao
  
  

For more information on China solutions and case studies on the globally local difference of Dwellworks Living, contact us here and subscribe to our video series.