Serviced apartments – bridging the generation gap
For many of us, familiarity is secure and comforting. Take my parents for instance. Undeniably creatures of habit, they insist on booking into the same hotel every summer for their annual theatre-and-shopping weekend in Manchester.
While I’m delighted they’re having fun, I’m forever trying to encourage them to take advantage of serviced apartments – of which Manchester boasts an excellent variety.
Serviced apartments – are baby boomers missing out?
My friends in their twenties and thirties have expressed a similar reluctance among their parents to try serviced apartments – largely because it’s a relatively modern concept which some of the ‘baby boomer’ generation may be unfamiliar with. Even among retired couples who are more adventurous than my parents, many aren’t aware that serviced apartments exist. The opportunity of well-priced luxurious accommodation, akin to a hotel suite, therefore goes unnoticed.
The benefits of serviced apartments for my parents would include:
- Increased space (their usual hotel room tends to be rather cramped)
- Modern living (their ‘favourite’ hotel is old-fashioned in design)
- The ability to self cater (my father gets grumpy without his breakfast of beans and sausages)
- Financial savings (increasingly important as they’re now retired)
- A change of scene (always good)
Serviced apartments – convincing my parents to step out of their comfort zone
My challenge is to convince my wonderful parents to broaden their slightly limited horizons, and to try serviced apartments when they visit Manchester in summer 2009. I’m convinced a couple of nights in a serviced apartment with a plasma TV, superb kitchen facilities and even the luxury of two separate bedrooms – an ideal solution should Dad’s snoring and Mum’s hot flushes all get too much – would set the scene for a perfect weekend.
Tags: apartments, serviced