BY LESTER CHANG
More companies are choosing to rent fully equipped "corporate" apartments in Sunnyvale rather than house their employees in hotels--a trend some hotel operators fear will take price-conscious customers away.
The customers are mainly visiting business people who have relocated and are seeking temporary housing.
The influx of corporate employees and new residents stems from an economic boom that started in Silicon Valley two years ago, said Suzi Blackman, Executive Director of the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce.
Interest in "corporate housing units" comes at a time when Sunnyvale hotels are filling up and travelers are having a harder time booking reservations, she said.
"Hotel rooms have their importance, but there is a shortage of rooms at this time," Blackman said. "Corporate housing is good in that it is much more apartment-oriented and affordable in the long term."
But Richard Russell, general manager of the 350-room Sunnyvale Hilton Inn, the largest hotel in Sunnyvale, thinks the corporate apartments will hurt the 30 or so hotels and motels in Sunnyvale.
"It takes away business," he said. "All suite properties [hotels] and long-term-stay properties [inns] would be affected."
Corporations seek out these types of apartments because they want to get the most for their money, Blackman said.
Hotel rates in Sunnyvale run from $85 to $180 a day, Blackman estimated. By comparison, it costs $399 to $489 a week to lodge at the "extended-stay corporate lodging units" at the 145-unit Homestead Village project at 1255 Orleans Drive in north Sunnyvale. The price varies depending on amenities, said Suzie Yang, a general manager at the project.
The corporate apartments have been under construction for the last 11 months and are scheduled to open in March.
Some 50 units in Sunnyvale managed by Oakwood Corporate Housing generally run from $57 to less than $100 a day. Oakwood has built and managed more than 1,000 units--studios and one- andtwo-bedroom units--in San Jose and Mountain View over the last 25 years.
Companies also find the units appealing because they are equipped with kitchens, allowing employees to cook their meals and save money, said Jack Jensky, a regional manager for Oakwood Corporate Housing, which has headquarters in Los Angeles.
The units, which range from 300 to 400 square feet, have carpeting, television, pots and pans, a microwave oven, plates and silverware. Parking also is available.
Tenants must stay a minimum of seven days, but people have stayed up to a year at other properties Homestead Village Inc. owns in California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Georgia and New Mexico, Blem said. The company is based in El Paso,Texas.
In California, a project in San Mateo is scheduled to open on March 10, and a project in Milpitas on Feb. 17.
Tenants are required to stay a minimum of 31 days, but some have stayed for up to sixth months, Jensky said.
The units come equipped with furniture, utilities, cable television, optional housekeeping service, voicemail, carpeting and bedding, he said.
Last year, the company rented the 1,000 units it owns and another 300 it manages in the valley, Jensky said.
"Nineteen-ninety-six was a fabulous year in terms of companies being prosperous. That was good news for us," he said. The company expects the same good news in 1997.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 29, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.