Oakwood Worldwide

More and more, human resource professionals are called upon to arrange a growing number of relocations and reassignments to help their companies maximize and retain their top talents.

The companies largely responsible for housing these mobile nomads are corporate housing providers. According to the Corporate Housing Provider’s Association, the industry has been on the rise for the past 20 years, with total revenue of $2.5 billion in 2004. As the industry founder and worldwide leader in temporary furnished housing, Oakwood Worldwide is in the midst of its own technology revolution as we work to simplify the process of providing a home away from home for thousands of individuals from America’s leading companies.

As today’s workforce is more mobile than ever before, HR managers want easy access to pertinent relocation information, 24/7. Domestically, there are a number of exclusive, technology-driven tools Oakwood offers to assist these HR professionals. One such service is eOakwood, which is designed to help companies track their housing needs anytime and anywhere. eOakwood is an online portal that gives corporate travel and relocation professionals instant online access to their company’s housing program, including past, present and future reservations; the location of where each of their employees is housed; monitors housing status; makes account updates and adjustments; receives and pays invoices; and a host of other features. Also, as the potential for identity theft is considered high during relocation, all information is secured and encrypted using some of the top technology available.

Oakwood will soon be the first corporate housing provider to offer direct online booking – the same service that many travelers have enjoyed with online hotel booking. It has been a challenge in the past to transfer the technology hotels use for corporate apartments, because unlike hotels, corporate apartment inventory can expand and shift locations, where as hotels have a set number of rooms in one location. Due to the flexible and fluctuating inventory of the corporate housing model, Oakwood has had to create a more robust and customized online reservations system. This new system will allow human resources professionals to book an apartment for an employee over the Internet without the back and forth faxing of paper work and phone calls to confirm the reservation.

Going one step further to meet the needs of relocation professionals is eConnectivity. Making the temporary housing reservation process even more simple and user-friendly, this service is an interface that provides real-time connectivity between Oakwood and the company who elects this option. eConnectivity allows for direct information and process sharing. This connection then creates a seamless and paperless closed loop reservation system complete with online bill paying capabilities; bill tracking; residency monitoring; and much more. In short, any business process that a company performs with Oakwood can be automated via a computer interface that is completely customizable for each company so their needs and requirements are met. A standard version of eConnectivity is also available, but in either case, a company can have virtually direct access to Oakwood’s own extensive databases, including our property profiles and invoice data, without ever needing to go to an external Web site, as all the information is seamlessly integrated into their company’s own systems platform.

The individual traveler also requires targeted services. For this segment, Oakwood will soon be launching myOakwood—a personalized, secured Web site created for each guest. With myOakwood, travelers can effortlessly access check-in and check-out details, peruse local restaurants and entertainment venues and also search for community information. Guests can also make maintenance requests, get directions, send us feedback, view their invoice and more. This service is of great benefit to the guest, because they can access the information they need when they need it.

Relocating to another city, even if it’s for a few months, is a stressful transition. When a company has a number of employees assigned to multiple locations, the task of the human resources manager is even greater to ensure that each employee is given the attention and information required for a facile move. In response to the needs of these professionals, Oakwood developed Total Solution. Helping both small and large companies, this exclusive program’s main goal is to satisfy 100 percent of a company’s housing needs. Oakwood will take the steps necessary to meet any housing request, and places a guarantee on our efforts. One of the greatest benefits of Total Solution is that there is one point of contact throughout the entire process to manage all housing aspects, including housing placement, move in and move out details, and much more. Companies can even arrange for an Oakwood staff member to work out of an office at your company, so your Total Solution contact is just a short walk down the hall. Total Solution also offers customized reports and consolidated billing, regardless of the number of locations or type of housing a company needs.

Another topic of concern to relocation managers is cost. With companies taking careful notice of all expenses they incur, making each dollar count is a must. One of the greatest draws of corporate housing is the solid value it provides versus staying at a hotel. According to the 2003/2004 Global Relocation Trends Survey Report sponsored by GMAC Global Relocation Services, the National Foreign Trade Council and SHRM Global Forum, 62 percent of relocation assignments are for six months to a year, while 11 percent are from one to three years in duration. With the majority of relocation assignments lasting for several months or more, plus the added drive to lower costs, temporary housing becomes an attractive accommodation choice.

Many human resources professionals choose corporate housing for relocations after carefully comparing costs and quality. Corporate apartments provide more space than hotels or extended-stay hotels at either comparable or even lower prices. Further, Oakwood does not charge extended-stay guests the service taxes for stays of 30 days or longer in most markets. Also, since every apartment has a complete kitchen that is fully equipped, you can save your company money on meal expenses. Oakwood apartments are even more cost-effective when employees are traveling with their families, as an entire family can be comfortably accommodated in an Oakwood apartment, eliminating the need to reserve multiple hotel rooms.

Another way Oakwood provides value is by offering high quality home furnishings for our guests. We re-examined how we can improve our guests’ comfort and enjoyment in our apartments and created the Oakwood Signature Apartment. With designer accessories and tableware, multiple televisions, original photography, and the “Oakwood Dream Bed,” which includes four luxurious pillows; a down blanket; lush duvet; box stitched comfort enhancing pillow-topper; a signature ‘Oakwood’ decorative pillow; and high thread-count, first quality sheets, staying at an Oakwood apartment is more spacious and has a home-like feel no hotel can offer. With simply more room to relax and unwind and less expensive than a hotel stay, Oakwood is a perfect place to stay for business travelers.

In the past many relocating employees would be require the assistance of a real estate professional to sell their current home and purchase a new home in their new city. The real estate professional would provide employees with personal service and attention and assist them with their relocation needs. Today, we are seeing a growing trend in relocation assignments with employees who are not looking to buy a home in their new city of employment. For these employees, there is no rental service provider offering them comparable service to what home buyers and sellers would receive from a real estate professional. These employees are often given a lump sum for their move and left on their own to find appropriate rental housing. Oakwood has a new option for employees who seek a more permanent rental residence.

As the largest corporate housing provider in the world, Oakwood is also the largest renter of apartments in the United States. Given Oakwood’s knowledge of the rental market and existing relationship with many apartment communities all over the country, Oakwood has created Oakwood Residential Rentals, a free personalized rental service company specializing in apartments, condos and houses, covering all major markets in the United States. Services include a free, comprehensive rental consultation with a professional Housing Counselor, who assesses each renter's specific housing needs. These needs are matched with ORR's available nationwide inventory that includes thousands of pre-inspected apartments, condos and houses. ORR's extensive housing database features in-depth housing profiles, photos, detailed area maps and local community information. Once the ideal housing choices are identified, the renter then receives a free personalized rental tour with an ORR local area expert, a Certified Rental Consultant, who drives the renter to the properties and tours the selected properties with the renter. The CRC works closely with the renter to complete the rental process efficiently and effectively. ORR was introduced as a test pilot in the Los Angeles market in November of 2005. San Diego, Orange County and Phoenix ORR services will begin on February 1, 2006, with the national rollout scheduled for the summer of 2006.

Oakwood will continue to embrace technology and improve services to meet the changing needs of business travelers across the globe, as well as the needs of human resources professionals in charge of managing the placement of relocating employees.