Go Native's Guy Nixon exploring brand extension in India

Guy Nixon

This story first appeared in DNA Money edition on Saturday, December 15, 2012.

Go Native, the London-headquartered serviced apartment operator, is looking at expanding its brand in the Indian market to cash in on the growing demand for long-stay accommodation from its clientele in Europe, Middle East and India.

Guy Nixon, founder and CEO, Go Native, who was recently in India for client meeting, said, “We would love to explore opportunities to expand out brand in India. We would be keen to meet property owners who would like to work with the Go Native franchise.”

The company has a network of 25,000 serviced apartments, a large part of which is branded and operated by Go Native in London and Edinburgh. It also works with operators across the UK, Europe and the Middle East catering to clients’ need for housing in these regions.

Elaborating the company’s business model, Nixon said most of properties in the network are on 10-15 year management contract. “We brand and furnish the buildings and run them a bit like hotels but they are all apartments,” he said.

On the Indian market, he said, “We have been housing Indian people in the UK for over 10 years now. We have learnt a lot about the Indian market in that timeframe and have good understanding of their needs for housing. Their primary requirements are good quality accommodation, value for money, sensible pricing, good transport connectivity, preference to live within a community and close proximity to the workplace,” he said.

Go Native operates three-, four-, and five-star buildings and pricing depends on how long people are staying. In comparison to hotels, the rates at fully equipped serviced apartments are 20-30% cheaper while offering a lot more space.

While the duration of stay varies from company to company, Indian business travellers generally use Go Native apartments from 7-14 nights on the lower side going up to 1-6 months or more when coming on knowledge transfer and long-term projects.

“Banking industry forms large part of clientele from Mumbai while it is technology sector from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. It is a fairly mixed one in terms of companies from New Delhi,” said Nixon.