[KnowItAll]

What are the essential pieces of information you'd want a serviced apartment website to have?

1) # of bedrooms / bathrooms
2) kitchen facilities
3) TV / DVD etc
4) facilities like Gym / Fitness club membership
5) Cleaning services

What else?

[leghk]

Location, distance to nearest MTR etc?

[backpacker]

1. actual size of the apt...not counting elevators, stairways, entrance, etc.
2. price
3. lease period
4. number of units in building
5. internet, cable...

[jgl]

KIA, do you mean a website for a particular serviced apartment, or a website that covers many serviced apartments?

For both:

• Prices for different stay durations
• Size and floorplan of rooms
• Location
• Distance to MTR or other forms of transport
• Wide angle photos of ALL classes of room
• In-room facilities (especially details on internet access- wired/wifi + charges)
• Other facilities
• Online booking would be nice, but not essential

If this is for a site that aggregates serviced apartments:

• Credible review section including ratings for different factors (attitude of staff, cleanliness, noise, quality of beds)
• User-loaded photos (a la the Tripadvisor hotel reviews).

[KnowItAll]

Aggregator / Reviews website. the user uploads is a brilliant idea. However, it needs a certain amount of critical mass to get going.

[jgl]

I find the user-loaded photos really useful- it's too predictably obvious that photos from the hotel/apartment will be of the best angle of the best room under the best lighting conditions and so I tend to discount them.

User photos will sample a wider range of rooms, but also point out particular features that the review was interested in- the view out the window, the quality of the bathroom, etc.

[HKFella]

Swimming pool

Lessee Parking provided/included?
Any visitor parking, or nearest parking

How many beds, and how many sofabeds

Laundry facilities - in room, separate laundry room (or both), nearby

Minimum stay options (daily, weekly, monthly)

Prices for different stay durations as mentioned (v. imp.), maybe it can present a quote for longer term quote once the dates have been selected.

On-premises shops (if any).

On internet, also whether it's wired broadband or wireless and whether adapters, patch cords, etc are available.

[aquarella]

Many if not all of us here have likely taken shots of places they've stayed (i have). When I booked my place on Wotif.com, i relied on cheap daily rates. When I stayed about a week and felt the need to go, I casually asked about a monthly rate - and realized I should have inquired early on.

I think it's especially important to post prices because that gives the big community a benchmark of how quickly prices are rising. It benefits us all in the long run.

I was wondering if I was going to post all the prices of placed I'd checked as of early April...

[KnowItAll]

Pricing will be a tough one to maintain, as the apartments essentially change their pricing on a regular basis.

Will probably have apartments that co-operate with us, update their rates on a regular basis.

Thanks for the input folks .. hopefully we can get this new venture launched by the end of the month.

[Claire ex-ax]

One question asked often (or so it seems) is about which ones are pet-friendly.