For the consul general…
a simple room or an elegant apartment?
Boom in guestroom and private accommodation agencies – demand greater than supply – alternative to hotel
You don't always have to go for a hotel if you're staying in Stuttgart for a few days or weeks. Private guestrooms and furnished apartments are enjoying increasing popularity. Agencies complain about scarce supply.
"The demand for inexpensive, private accommodation is increasing." Annerose Berner, head of Tourist Information confirms the trend that is continuing to boost business for accommodation agencies. According to i-Punkt, a cheap hotel room with a shared shower is available for 80 DM upwards and a bed in a simple boarding house or guesthouse can be rented for 60. This might not be a lot of money for some, but for many trainees, manual workers, trade fair exhibitors or people coming to Stuttgart as a result of the economic upswing, these forms of accommodation are simply too expensive. And finding regular rented accommodation can take weeks ore even months. This is why more and more people are opting for private lodgings. In this sector, accommodation can be rented from 35 DM upwards, or even less for long-term bookings. i-Punkt alone registers up to 12 enquiries a day. Berner sees such inexpensive forms of accommodation "not as competition, but as an interesting alternative to hotel rooms." i-Punkt cooperates with the biggest local private accommodation agency Night&Day and also recommends the addresses of other suppliers.
"We have more enquiries than properties. We need much more accommodation," claim Claudia and Markus Urban. The couple have been running Night&Day professionally in the region for five years. After spending the initial years in Nürtingen, the 6-man strong agency now operates from Stuttgart-Degerloch. Almost 500 properties and at least 350 landlords/property owners are registered in their files.
Simple room or elegant apartment
The agency supplies everything from simple guestrooms with shared bathroom and kitchen, via traditional bed & breakfasts to luxuriously furnished apartments alongside four fully furnished houses. In one property, a company is currently putting up ten members of staff – for 6600 DM a month. "Some need the money, others simply enjoying sharing their house with different people all the time." This is how Markus Urban explains the trend from the point of view of property owners. In many cases, their children have moved out and rooms in the house are empty. Renting out these rooms by the day, week or even month seems an obvious solution. And when the children return home at Christmas or Easter, they can still move back into their old rooms. Property owners are free to reserve their property for their own use. Other house owners are reluctant to rent out their property long-term because of tenancy laws: they want to be able use their property at any time. When the agency reserves the accommodation, a hotel-like accommodation contract is automatically concluded. Bed linen, cleaning and towels are usually included in the price. The guest generally pays his landlord in advance upon arrival. In some cases, a 20% deposit is agreed (as is the case in travel agencies).
"On busy days, we receive over 100 enquiries from Germany and abroad," Markus Urban describes his company's rapid development, which has been further boosted by the Internet. The number of bookings has risen from 600 to 800 a month. "From manual workers to professors" private accommodation is in great demand. Musical guests or Stuttgart tourists also appreciate private lodgings with or without contact to their guest family. "Even a consul general temporarily rented a furnished apartment through our agency", claims Markus Urban proudly. His wife Claudia tops him: their most distant enquiry recently came from Papua New Guinea – from a doctor who was looking for a furnished 3-room flat during a three-month hospital internship in Stuttgart!
Hildegard Oßwald
Press report from the Stuttgarter Zeitung