Serviced apartments: a home with hotel touch

Serviced apartments: a home with hotel touch

New apartments and condominiums continue to flood the market
despite the generally low occupancy rates. What kinds of services
are developers providing to lure residents? The following is the
third of a series of articles on apartments and condominiums in
the capital.

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fighting through traffic for two hours on the toll road just to
spend the weekend with the family at a villa in Puncak seems to
have lost its appeal for many always-in-a-rush Jakartans.

Many residents now prefer to stay at a condominium hotel or
serviced apartment, which allows them to enjoy hotel-class
service with a more residential feel in the heart of the city.

A property analyst at Coldwell Banker Commercial, Hadi
Syamsudin, said that unlike ordinary apartments or condominiums,
serviced apartments provide complete hotel-style services,
including room service, laundry and meals.

"Condominium hotels or serviced apartments also offer
flexibility in the duration of stay. Customers can choose to rent
for a day, a week or a month. And, of course, it costs less than
staying at a four or five-star hotel," he told The Jakarta Post.

Hadi said people often confused serviced apartments with
condominiums and normal apartments.

He said a condominium was meant to be sold, while apartments
were meant for lease. The facilities, price and location, he
said, have nothing to do with the categorization of condominiums
and apartments.

However, according to Hadi, developers and owners sometimes
sell their apartments or rent their condominiums, resulting in
the confusion over the terms.

Meanwhile, several developers have cooperated with star-rated
hotels to provide services for their tenants, creating serviced
apartments.

Hadi said many developers planned from the beginning to rent
out their properties as serviced apartments, while many others
sold their condominiums and helped the individual owners manage
the properties as serviced apartments.

There are many choices in the serviced apartment market, from
relatively low-priced rooms to much more expensive apartments.
Serviced apartments are found across the city and include the
Ascott Jakarta in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, the Citra
Somerset in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, and the Aston Rasuna,
also in South Jakarta.

The average monthly rent for a serviced apartment ranges from
US$26 per square meter at the Citra Somerset to $8.42 per square
meter at the Allson, Senen, Central Jakarta.

Ferry S. Supanji, vice president of PT Bakrie Swasakti Utama,
the developer of the Aston Rasuna, said even Jakartans who did
not want to live in an apartment could buy a serviced apartment
as an investment.

"We tell our clients that we can manage the apartments after
they purchase from us. We cooperate with the Aston hotel to
manage the apartments. The owners only have to wait for the
return. So, only people who intend to invest buy serviced
apartments," he said.

Ferry said the owners could enjoy about a 9 percent yearly
return on their property.

"This is a good business as the Aston Rasuna is always fully
occupied on weekends and 90 percent during weekdays," he said.

Price list of apartments, condominiums and serviced apartments

No. Apartment Average rental price

square meter/month

(US dollars)
1. Park Royal, South Jakarta $27.06
2. Batavia Apartment, Central Jakarta $22.92
3. Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta $20.83
4. Istana Sahid, Central Jakarta $20.21
5. Intercontinental Mid Plaza, Central Jakarta $20.08
6. Golf Pondok Indah $19.56
7. Bougenville Apartment, North Jakarta $11.99
8. Kemang Jaya, South Jakarta $10.37
9. Aston Rasuna $9.93
10. Brawijaya Residence, South Jakarta $7.56
11. Parama, South Jakarta $5.60
12. Prapanca, South Jakarta $5.51
13. Semanggi Apartment $2.84

No. Condominium Average sale price

per square meter
1. Da Vinci, Central Jakarta Rp 30 million
2. Four Seasons, South Jakarta Rp 21.25 million
3. Airlangga Apartment, South Jakarta Rp 20 million
4. Bellagio Mansion, South Jakarta Rp 19.5 million
5. Pondok Indah Golf, South Jakarta Rp 18 million
6. Pakubuwono Residence, South Jakarta Rp 17 million
7. SCBD Suite, South Jakarta Rp 17 million
8. Pearl Garden, South Jakarta Rp 15 million
9. The Peak, South Jakarta Rp 12.5 million
10. Somerset Pakuan Berlian, South Jakarta Rp 10 million
11. Hollywood Residence, South Jakarta Rp 9 million
12. Taman Rasuna Apartment, South Jakarta Rp 8.5 million
13. The View, Central Jakarta Rp 7 million
14. Teluk Intan Apartment, North Jakarta Rp 4 million

No. Serviced apartments Average rental price

square meter/month

(US dollars)
1. Citra Somerset, South Jakarta $25.97
2. Menteng Executive Residence $19
3. The Ascott Jakarta, Central Jakarta $18.44
4. Aston Sudirman, Central Jakarta $17.88
5. Allson, Central Jakarta $8.42