Charles McCrow heads the TTG Power List in the Serviced Apartments sector

Charles McCrow, Managing Director of The Apartment Service has been awarded first place in the Serviced Apartment Sector of the Power List of the ‘Most Influential People in Business Travel’ today.

The Power List is an initiative of the highly respected publication, TTG Business and was voted for by a wide range of industry experts from their readership.

Charles McCrow has been involved in the serviced apartment sector since its origins in the UK and, over time, has continually worked to increase awareness of serviced apartments as a viable hotel alternative and has been instrumental in introducing new initiatives into the sector.

The Apartment Service, under his direction, has gone from strength to strength over the years. Originally, solely a booking agent for serviced apartments, he introduced Executive Roomspace to the UK market in 1997, the first brand in short term corporate housing in fully furnished serviced apartments.

Executive Roomspace proved to be a growing success story and in 2002, Roomspace Serviced Apartments was launched for corporate housing stays of one week or more in key locations in London and other cities in the UK. The brand is now expanding into Europe with the first location recently opened in Lisbon. Several new locations are planned for next year.

Charles McCrow is a passionate advocate of an industry grading system, starting firstly with sponsoring a serviced apartments section in the 1990’s in Egon Ronay’s ‘Hotel & Restaurant Guides’ and then, latterly, as a founder member of the Association for Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) in the grading system initiative set up by Quality in Tourism from Visit Britain.

With his many years experience in the serviced apartment sector, McCrow knows that it is vital to keep on top of changing client demands and is constantly developing the services offered by The Apartment Service.

In 2005, Roomspace Solutions was introduced, to offer a bespoke short term housing solution for corporate clients and, in 2008, this will be followed by CAS (Complete Accommodation Solutions), specifically aimed at extended stays in mainland Europe.

In the first quarter of 2008 The Apartment Service will launch its new web service which has been developed from the ground up to offer end-to-end XML connectivity. This will allow our major clients, Travel Management Companies and Hotel Booking Agents to access availability and rates in real time.
Later in 2008 the consolidation of serviced apartment product onto the major Global Distribution Systems (Galileo, Amadeus etc.) via their website will be another landmark step for the sector.

All these initiatives, coupled with a 26 year record of successfully running The Apartment Service, make Charles McCrow a well deserved leader on the TTG Power List.

For further information please contact:

Mike Stapley
Sales Manager – The Apartment Service
E-mail: MikeS@apartment.co.uk
Phone: +44-(0)20-89441444 – ext 278
Mobile: +44-(0)7950-819882

About The Apartment Service:

The Apartment Service, founded in 1981, is the largest booking agent for serviced apartments in Europe, offering more than 1000 apartment locations worldwide for stays of one night, one week, one month or even a year.

Awarded Best Serviced Accommodation Provider 2007 - Buying Business Travel Magazine

Members of: HBAA, ITM, ARP, ASAP, CHPA

The Apartment Service
5-6 Francis Grove
London SW19 4DT
England
Press contact: Bard Vos - bardv@apartment.co.uk

The Apartment Service, founded in 1981, is the largest booking agent for serviced apartments in Europe, with more than 3500 serviced apartments worldwide

This release was published on openPR.