These types of apartments are rented or owned by a company. There are several reasons why this is done. It could be a place for out of town clients to stay instead of renting a hotel room. They can be used as temporary housing for employees who have relocated to a new location for work while seeking permanent housing. Some companies use corporate apartments for their salespeople or other employees who are in town temporarily conducting business for the corporation.
One of the most common reasons is to provide cost-effective living arrangements when company representatives frequently travel to a certain area on business. Companies can have corporate apartments in each city where their business is located. These corporate apartments can be located all over the world if the company has offices abroad. If a company has a client that requires them to make multiple trips abroad, then they can temporarily secure a corporate apartment for the employee to stay in rather than having to make hotel arrangements each time they have to travel abroad.
It is not unusual for media companies, television stations and newspaper companies to have such housing arrangements in key cities around the world that provide readily available housing for media staff and journalists. Although long-term leasing is typically less expensive than hotels, it can also be profitable for short-term housing. For example, if a sales professional were sent to a location to establish a customer base in that particular area with limited time to complete the job, renting a corporate apartment would be more profitable than renting a hotel room. Most of these apartments have kitchens so this would save the cost of eating in a restaurant. Many times a business can lease such residences for as little as a week to several months.
When a business has out-of-town potential or established clients come to visit the corporation, it makes a better impression on potential clients if they have an apartment to stay in rather than a hotel room. It gives them more space to relax and less disturbance from neighboring hotel rooms. Also, these corporate apartments are nicer than hotel rooms. It can help build rapport with potential clients because the convenience of staying in a corporate apartment means they don’t have to pay for a hotel room. Having a corporate apartment also saves the business time by not having to make hotel reservations, especially if the client is coming on a special weekend when better hotel rooms may not be available. It may not sound profitable if the corporate apartments go unused for a month and rent is still paid, but this evens out when employees and clients use it multiple times during the month.