By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- The serviced apartment market in Asia is ready for a franchise model, according to Quest, a player in the serviced apartment industry in the Australasian region.

Quest Chairman Paul Constantinou said in a statement here Tuesday that while there were several companies offering serviced apartments in the Asian region, none operated on a franchised system.

Quest, with properties in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, is looking at entering the Asian regional market in the near future.

"It's an opportunity for Quest to look at Asia. We believe that the franchise model would be quite successful throughout Asia," Constantinou said.

He said with wealth accumulating in many Asian countries there was a growing number of people who wanted to go into the serviced apartment business for themselves.

"There has been an emergence of financially capable people who are risk averse but want to get into business and a franchise would be a great opportunity for them," he added.

"The benefits of franchising is that the person who owns the business, runs the business, and there is certainty of income for the developer. Developers want the surety of income over extended periods of time."

Constantinou said the serviced apartment industry was set for growth in the Asian market and longer-stay travellers and business travellers were already being identified as potential customers.

"If you're in Singapore for business for an extended period of time, you'd probably prefer to stay in an apartment, (and) as long as you have a place to work, you don't need a palace," he said. -- NNN-BERNAMA