What is corporate housing? Corporate housing is defined as fully furnished and equipped apartments with housewares, linens, public services, high-speed internet access and other available optional services. Unlike hotel or apt-hotels, the lengths of typical corporate housing stays are a minimum of 30 days. The corporate housing industry has grown into a $2.95 billion industry in the United States alone. However, corporate housing involves much more than a completely furnished apartment. It includes a range of services and assistance that can make or break the experience of relocating to a new country for a new job or spending time on a shorter-term project.

Corporate housing is often used for two major functions: temporary living when a transferring employee is between homes, and temporary assignments, whether it is for training, consulting, or an extended project. In a relocation, the goal of the corporate housing company is to provide temporary accommodations that will ease the transition between the old location and the new. In this situation, a corporate apartment is designed to assist a transferring employee, and possibly his or her family, in adjusting to the new area so that he or she can be productive in the new office—all while finding a new permanent home. There has been an increase in the utilization of corporate housing for relocation, because companies are moving more people internationally. Because of the length of time household goods shipments can take overseas, transferees spend time in temporary housing before they can move to their new permanent homes. Corporate housing is also used for short-term assignments.

Short-term assignments may involve internships, training, consulting, or information technology maintenance. In addition to providing a level of comfort for these interim employees when they are not onsite, corporate apartments tend to be far more cost effective than renting a hotel room for several weeks or even months.

The bottom line is that corporate housing is the perfect choice for companies concerned about travel expenditures. Whether it is for special projects or relocations or just business travel, corporate housing tends to be a cost savings over high-end comparable hotels.

One key cost saving feature is the availability of a kitchen with cooking utensils. This is a cost saver for corporations. Instead of eating out or calling room service and billing it back to the company, transferees purchase food and make their own meals in corporate apartments. For a relocating employee, this can be beneficial in acclimating to the neighborhood—finding local places to shop for household necessities. For an employee on short-term assignment, making one’s own meals can bring comfort and remind the employee of his or her own home. In general, the additional space of a corporate apartment is quite welcoming compared to the confines of a hotel room—many transferees highly value having more than one room, especially when they are in temporary living for more than a month. Corporate housing providers usually also are able to customize apartments for each guest.

Many corporate apartments also provide access to fitness centers, laundry facilities, and business centers. In addition, an employee and family that stay in a corporate apartment near the area where they are attempting to find more permanent living arrangements can familiarize themselves with the area, the children will be close to their school choice and various registration needs will be easier to obtain.

Consistency is a large advantage of a corporate housing provider. We provide consistency in our service delivery, consistency in billing—the arrangements are through a direct billing feature. Even more important, it’s having a place where you know your personnel are going to be comfortable. Things are provided for them, whether it’s the cooking package or maid service.

Corporate housing and the services we provide help facilitate that smooth transition from one location to the next. Although cost effectiveness usually is considered by corporations the top advantage for utilizing corporate housing, reducing the soft costs of employee inefficiency and stress are probably the most important.

Panama Corporate Living, through its affiliation with U.S. based Wolff Corporate Housing, has brought over 15 years of corporate housing experience to Central America. We opened our first corporate apartments in Panama City, Panama and have grown rapidly as companies learn about our alternative to Hotels and Apartment-Hotels. At Panama Corporate Living, we have built our business model on quality housing, responsiveness and follow-up to client needs. This top level of customer service has been well-received by our clients in Panama.

US based companies feel more comfortable working with Panama Corporate Living because it is administered by an established U.S. based corporate housing company that is a member of the Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) and Employee Relocation Council (ERC). Reservation and billing can be handled locally in Panama as well as in the U.S.

In today’s fast paced business world, we all strive to balance work and home. Panama Corporate Living provides the environment to balance one’s work life and home life while relocating or on assignment. Panama Corporate Living is perfect for projects and business travel and essential for relocations.