Choosing The Right Apartment

How to tell a quality serviced apartment from a sub-standard one.

I often get calls from people who haggle over prices. They tell me of dirt-cheap offers in posh areas, trying to negotiate a cheaper deal at Dreamhome. But we at Dreamhome do not believe in negotiations that will in turn compromise the quality of service offered. Some may take offence, but I firmly believe that "if you throw peanuts, you get monkeys"!

I have had a first-hand look at companies offering cheap deals. Most of them put together mismatched, cast-off furniture that are on their last legs with shabby linen and furnishings. That's definitely not the case with Dreamhome, as my clients will vouch for.

In fact, I have had clients who have come to Dreamhome after a horror stay at some of these cheap apartments. The list of complaints have ranged from bed bugs, unclean smelly bedsheets, small matchbox-like rooms where you get down from the bed and enter the equally tiny loo, bad service, etc.

Dreamhome specialises in exclusivity. Most of our apartments are exclusive serviced apartments, where there is no intrusion on the guests' privacy. Even a 3 bedroom Serviced apartment which is preferred by corporates and budget travellers, is completely self contained with television, digital cable connection, Wi-Fi, wardrobes, beds with comfort mattresses, dressing tables, electric kettles etc. which takes car of all the guests needs. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is also served at the apartment to make the guest feel completely at home. 

Guests also have the privilege of cooking their own meals, if they so desire. Recently, we hosted a Masterchef contestant at one of our properties, and she would cook up a storm every day that she stayed.

Thus, Dreamhome clearly has an edge over hotels in this regard.

Never Say No

You may call it bravado on my part but I usually try to give my clients exactly what they want. I learnt this from my first boss in Dubai who used to say that we can never say no to a client. If we don't have something that he/she wants, we can always create it for them. So this was the guiding principle when I got a call from a multinational company. They wanted an apartment for an expatriate employee for a period of six months, but in a part of the city where I did not have any property. Never one to say no, I said I would create a guest house for them. Accordingly, I set about scouting for a suitable apartment. And I found it in a day!

I spoke to the owner who was a nice, affable man. He seemed happy with the rent offered and said I could get the apartment by the end of the month, which was just a week from that day. I conveyed the news to the company which was in a bit of a hurry. But in a couple of days, everything turned topsy-turvy. The flat owner said his family (they were Jains) does not want to shift elsewhere, so the deal will have to be cancelled. I was stunned. This was a question of Dreamhome's credibility. Against all odds, I tried to salvage the situation. Requesting a personal meeting, I went over to meet the family and convinced them that their flat would be well taken care of. They agreed!!!!! And guess what? They were one of the best landlords Dreamhome has ever worked with.

Dreamhome Apartments - Safe Apartments

I once had this client, a Swedish doctor who had come to Mumbai for the delivery of his twins—a boy and girl—born of a surrogate mother. Dreamhome provided him with additional services of car drops with attendants whenever he had to go for doctor visits with the twins. He was so pleased with the hospitality of Dreamhome that even now, he sends an email every once in a while, sometimes with the photos of his twins. Interestingly, I could very easily have missed the deal to house this doc as I was holidaying in Malaysia at the time I got his call!

At Dream Home, Safety Is Our Business

Talking of twins, there was also this divorced Frenchman with twin babies and a nanny who stayed for several months at a Dreamhome apartment. Of course, we had to make the apartment baby-safe, to ensure that there were no rough edges, that the grilles were sturdy, the doors had stoppers, etc. The experience later came in handy when my wife and I welcomed our own bundle of joy!

In a related note, one day I got a call from this US-based family with a kid who were in Mumbai for an IVF treatment at a Bandra-based hospital. Their entire itinerary was fixed by a medical tourism company which had put them up at a seedy hotel located in a prominent part of Bandra. Needless to say, the family was distraught. They did not want to stay at the hotel and had got Dreamhome's no. from the internet. Understanding the urgency of the situation, I put them up at one of our best apartments that had facilities like a children's park and swimming pool. The family was touched with the hospitality, especially after such a harrowing time!

Entering the big league

Professional Housekeeping

It was in the early days of Dreamhome when I got this top banker as client. He had informed me that he would be checking out around 3 in the morning as he had an early morning flight. In those days, I had few housekeeping boys, so I said I myself would go to fetch the apartment key once he checks out. When I reached, my client was in a state of panic. He couldn't get any taxi for the airport, he explained. So I said I would give him a drop. And he was really pleased, couldn't believe that I, being the owner of the company, would chauffeur him to the airport.

That's not all. A month later, I get a call from the same client, offering me a big deal, that of providing accommodation to some of the bank's employees at my guest house for a few months. Needless to say, this was the biggest deal for Dreamhome at the time and truly helped put the company in the big league. I knew then that my motto—'no job is inferior'—paid off handsomely.

How it all began

It's been nearly five years since I started Dreamhome, my serviced apartment business. The journey has been magical, considering that I literally stumbled into the trade when I wanted to give out my brand new apartment on rent. A friend working for an IT major wanted to pay good money for housing some of his office employees for a couple of months. And voila! I had found the key to a successful business. And it grew so well and so soon that I quit my plush Merchant Navy job to focus on Dreamhome ServicedApartments.

But don't assume that it was a cakewalk. Far from it. There have been times when I have played multiple roles—that of driver, manager, proprietor (due to lack of manpower). And once, labour problems had even driven me and my girlfriend (now wife) to mop up an apartment. Thankfully, Dreamhome has sailed past such crises to emerge stronger every time.

The Making of Dream Home

It's been a roller-coaster ride ever since I started Dreamhome Relocations & Serviced Apartments. Over the years, I have evolved into an all-in-one handyman who can get it all fixed up. And the calls have ranged from the downright hilarious to the bizarre—the TV remote not working, guests forgetting electronic door keys inside, or someone leaving the tap open and flooding the entire floor

The guests, too, have ranged from the routine corporate to the quirky traveller and catering to all of them is like walking a tightrope—bouquets on one hand to brickbats the very next moment. In the hospitality business, you have to please them all!

There have been guests who have requested for a Mumbai darshan to the lonely traveller who insisted that all he needs is someone with whom he can talk the entire night and share a drink! There have even been guests who came down solely to watch the entire cricket world cup on TV for a month and go shopping for masalas. 

So, this blog is for all those who made the journey worthwhile. Here's a sneak peek into the slice of life we offer at Dreamhome.