Lampl Consulting Group Expanding Virtual Offices to Bangkok

Lampl Consulting Group is currently expanding its virtual offices in Bangkok to meet the growing demands of new businesses. The company has chosen Bangkok for its business potential in the city for virtual offices and will launch its Lampl Business Center Bangkok in June. Lampl Consulting Group is an Austrian based company that has an extensive history of experience as a consultancy business in Thailand as well as other Asian countries.

According to Somrutai Chunhachatrachai, general manager and head of sales for Lampl Consulting Group, there are a growing number of new entrepreneurs who desire to begin a business without all the complications and expenses of leasing and setting up an office. These clients include those who work at home and want to have the convenience of a virtual office to create a professional image for their business start-up.

Despite the political situation in Bangkok, the company plans to pursue business incubation and plans to have at least one hundred virtual office tenants by the end of the year. Currently half of the Lampl Business Center’s virtual offices are now occupied by foreign companies looking to reduce costs by acquiring a space that is ready to use. Lampl Consulting Group forecasts full occupancy by the end of this year. The virtual offices will provide a business presence in Thailand with a dedicated phone number answered in Thai or English, a tailor made office to suit the individual needs of each business, Internet access, fax and copying, mail forwarding, reception service, and access to conference and meeting rooms.

Lampl Business Center plans to open an office in China in the near future. Other potential locations include Singapore and Hong Kong, where the serviced and virtual office business is currently booming with local and international businesses worldwide.

Cisco Virtual Office Offers Secure Solution for Extending Business Enterprise

Cisco recently introduced the “Cisco Virtual Office” which offers a highly secure solution that will allow businesses to extend their enterprise as well as productivity by providing the virtual office for employees that otherwise work from remote settings such as branch locations or a home office. The distribution of workforces within companies has increased the need to access collaborative business applications and services outside of their corporate offices.

Cisco has created a networking solution package with routing, switching, security, wireless, IP telephony, and policy control technology and combined it into a centrally managed virtual office solution that provides highly secure video, voice, data, and wireless service. The new virtual office solution package allows employees to work in a variety of places in a collaborative office environment that is enabled with advanced technologies with access to voice and video over IP communications, all within a highly secure networked environment. Employees will now be able to work as if they were sitting at their desk in their office.

With the onset of rising gas prices and energy costs, businesses are starting to seek more flexible and cost effective work options. The Cisco Virtual Office is in the right place at the right time with its capability to maintain continuity of business operations by ensuring highly secure collaboration among an increasingly distributed workforce. Remote workers will be able to access the same collaboration and communication technologies that are available to their office-based counterparts.

One of the Cisco Virtual Office Solution’s primary assets is a “zero touch” setup that is automated and pre-configured so the employees do not have the burden of installation responsibilities and may not be qualified to implement the networking system on their own. As a result of this state-of-the-art feature, businesses can confidently distribute their workforces to additional locations without the concern of employee error in IT setup or the headache of seeking IT support.

It is predicted that the number of distributed workers will continue to rise within the next three years which means that access to corporate networks will also multiply and increase in demand. Businesses will need a flexible IT infrastructure that provides the same protection and security to remote locations that is found in a corporate office where employees collaborate. As a result of Cisco’s new virtual office, businesses can safely access highly secure mobility as well as create employee work models that are more efficient than relying on centralized corporate sites for conducting and overseeing operations.

Bridgestreet Worldwide Opens Offices in Singapore

Bridgestreet Worldwide, a leading global provider of serviced apartments recently announced that it has opened an office in Singapore and will be operating as BridgeStreet Singapore PTE. LTD. The new office is located in Enterprise One of Singapore’s Kaki Bukit district and represents the company’s expansion plans into Asia-Pacific. This is the first BridgeStreet Worldwide office to open in Asia as is the result of the phenomenal growth experienced by the company within the last few years.

Bridgestreet Worldwide currently has offices in North America and throughout Europe and has established serviced apartment properties throughout these regions. The new office recently opened in Singapore will be led by Craig Ryan who is director of global supplier management. He has been involved with BridgeStreet Worldwide since 2006 beginning with director of sales in New York City where he was instrumental in driving the growth and success of the serviced apartment market.

The team in Singapore will be responsible for expanding the BridgeStreet Global Alliance in the Asia Pacific by searching for serviced apartment providers that meet the company’s expectations and quality assurance metrics. The New Global Alliance members will receive training in BridgeStreet operational procedures and standards as well as quality guest service practices. BridgeStreet Worldwide will offer richer serviced apartments in Asia that will be operated by local personnel to provide comprehensive service delivery to clients. This concept will also provide the company with a global insight into the opportunities and challenges for both the business and its clients.

BridgeStreet Worldwide is a leading international provider of corporate housing and serviced apartments. BridgeStreet and its Global Partner Alliance offer over 15,000 serviced apartments located throughout the United States and 50 cities internationally. An award winner both in the U.S. and Europe, BridgeStreet properties meet uncompromising standards of quality, comfort and service.

Regent Serviced Apartment Residences to be Introduced in Singapore

The Regent Residences Kuala Lumpur will be showcased at The Regent Singapore and is due for completion during the fourth quarter of 2011. The new luxury serviced apartment development in Malaysia’s capital city will be positioned at the top of Malaysia’s property market and will offer luxury urban living as well as an opportunity for people to invest in high value real estate.

The Regent Residences Kuala Lumpur will be located in a first class location in the Kuala Lumpur City Center which is directly across from the Petronas Twin towers near Jalan Ampang, leading to the Kuala City Center Park. The new Regent Residences serviced apartment complex will contain 115 units with two facility floors and will be associated with The Regent Kuala Lumpur, a luxury 236-room hotel.

The Regent Residences Kuala Lumpur will offer one, two, and three bedroom serviced apartments with two floors of penthouse units. All interiors will be designed by Sir Terence Conran, a world renowned designer, and include facilities such as a Sky Pool, teak decks for alfresco entertaining, a 24-hour concierge, and limousine service. All serviced apartments will be equipped with high quality furnishes and fixtures including a Bulthaup kitchen system, Miele appliances, timber strips, imported sanitary ware and imported marble flooring.

Due to the fact that Kuala Lumpur real estate values have jumped over thirty percent in the last year as a result of the abolition of real estate gains tax, luxury properties have become an attractive and popular investment in Kuala Lumpur. The newly established tax incentives in combination with foreign investors being able to gain permanent resident status under Malaysia My Second Home, the demand has significantly increased for luxury serviced apartment residences in Kuala Lumpur.

The Regent Residences Kuala Lumpur will offer an ideal city retreat with new standards of luxury that includes the added convenience of hotel services in a serviced apartment home style setting.The new Regent Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be managed by Carlson Hotels Worldwide – Asia Pacific, one of the world’s largest privately-owned hotel companies, which is continuing the expansion of its luxury Regent brand into key gateway cities across the region. The hotel operator will be maintaining the common properties of both the hotel and the serviced apartments.

Avanta Launches Serviced Offices in India

Avanta, a leading provider of serviced office space throughout the United Kingdom, recently launched its first serviced office facility in Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi. The new serviced office property occupies 21,000 square feet of office space and offers meeting and training rooms, a secure reception area, and wi-fi enabled communal areas.

The serviced office building is located in the heart of New Delhi’s primary business district and within close proximity to domestic and international airports, the railway station, the main shopping area of Connaught, and a variety of restaurants and bars.

The serviced office spaces range from two person furnished accommodations to complete floors that are tailored to meet the individual needs of each client. The prime serviced office space is competitively priced featuring cutting edge communications technology that includes VoIP telephone systems, Internet access, and dedicated client server rooms.

The serviced office facility offers businesses a complete package of office support and is capable of delivering an entire range of business center facilities to home workers, business start-ups, mobile professionals, and larger companies seeking a presence in India. There is also a meeting and training room facility equipped with audio and videoconferencing, that is available to companies desiring to rent space short term for meeting and training sessions.

The serviced office center in Statesman House, New Delhi, has already attracted many inquiries noting that the Avanta model is known for quality and value in many professional markets. Avanta plans to expand their serviced office facilities to other regions in India in the near future.

During the grand opening of the new center, Avanta provided a reception for business partners, clients, and international and Indian commercial property consultants. The reception was followed by a guided tour of the serviced office facility and a party that included a performance by Ash Chandler who is one of India’s popular stand-up comedians.

Avanta's primary mission is to provide organizations of all sizes and types with well-equipped, non-branded and high quality serviced office accommodations in prime locations, flexible services and contracts, fixed and reliable pricing and exceptional value for the money.

Bangkok Hospital Adds Serviced Apartments to Medical Tourism

Bangkok Hospital recently made medical tourism easier for patients by adding serviced apartments to their extensive range of services to provide convenient accommodations for patient support people. The primary goal of the serviced apartment project is to reduce the barriers experienced by medical tourism of recuperation in a foreign city as well as streamlining support and visitation for foreign patients.

The serviced apartment complex offers 38 units located within the main building of the hospital on the 7th and 8th floors of the C building. The serviced apartments can house up to three people and are designed especially to accommodate the needs of family members and visitors by providing the comforts of home with amenities such as hotpots, refrigerators, multilingual cable television, Internet access, and air conditioners. The units range from studio to deluxe with a keycard controlled access system and an in-room safe in every unit.

The deluxe serviced apartment suites offer more space than the Studio level units and include a microwave oven as well as a bath, where Studio units incorporate just a shower. The serviced apartments also offer a complimentary visa extension service due to the fact that many of the clients are from overseas. A cafeteria and pantry service is provided as well as cooking facilities and mini bars in each unit.

The Bangkok Hospital serviced apartments make it one of only two hospitals in Thailand that offer this kind of level of in-house accommodations for visitors in recognition that medical care is often inconvenient and not a 9 to 5 prospect. The serviced apartments have a front desk which is manned 24-hours, room service, security, and wake-up calls.

Of the 1.2 million foreign patients who sought treatment in Thailand last year, around 500,000 of these came to Bangkok Hospital. The serviced apartments make the hospital an even more attractive prospect for overseas patients and represent a breakthrough in overseas medical care.

Serviced Apartments in Dubai Bear Fruit Long Before Completion

The hotel business in Dubai is gradually becoming a costlier headache for investors and developers amidst the climate of the rampant housing market. Developers are finding that a hotel project requires major upfront capital and takes years for owners to see a return on investment while serviced apartment residences are bearing fruit long before completion in the form of off-plan sales.

Hotels in Dubai are extremely expensive buildings especially when used as stand alone properties. In most cases, developers and investors are looking at up to six years before seeing any return on investment. If you opt for serviced apartment residences that are associated with the hotel, the residences can be sold to utilize the profits for the hotel portion. This is due mostly to the fact that the residential property industry has been flourishing in Dubai.

Serviced apartments associated with hotels make the investment more viable and profitable by leveraging against the high costs that are associated with building stand alone hotels. Serviced apartment residences are becoming a very sound investment for Dubai hotel developers. Viability has become more attainable due to the increasing demand for the luxury of a hotel experience in a home style setting.

According to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Marketing (DTCM), the number of tourists visiting Dubai will jump to 7.7 million this year from 6.9 million in 2007. A study by HSBC said the UAE is now the second destination of choice for expatriates, after Singapore, thanks to high salaries and ease of access to luxuries.

Due to the increase in international travel by corporate sectors, the demand for serviced apartments has experienced rapid growth. Increases in tourism and corporate travel have also increased the competition for the serviced apartment industry. In general, rates among competitors vary depending on the class and standard of facilities. Among the top serviced apartment properties, the rates tend to be similar across the board.

Short-term serviced apartment accommodations offer flexibility to those who do not wish to commit to a long-term tenancy agreement, but at the same token, it creates confidence in levels of service, quality, and security. The combination of serviced apartments with hotel accommodations also attracts a wider variety of guests.