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Business Travel, Downtown Toronto Condos, Lifestyle talk, Toronto Condos

DelSuites: A Home for Digital Nomads in Toronto

August 2, 2022
Digital nomads toronto photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels

Your job’s gone fully remote and you’ve decided to see the world—starting with a few months in Toronto.

Now that so many of us are free to leave the office, thousands are taking to the road to try out the digital nomad life. But working while you explore all the places and lifestyles you’ve always dreamed of needs a few steady building blocks: good WiFi, a bit of privacy, and a comfortable home base to start from.

Whether you’re coming from down the highway or across the world, here’s why DelSuites is your perfect Toronto home base for digital nomad life.

A Toronto home for digital nomads

Travelling for a while means travelling light—and a DelSuites fully furnished rental apartment has everything you need to step into a Toronto lifestyle.

Our units are located in modern, high-end condo buildings across the city, complete with concierge service, underground parking, and the amenities you need to keep your lifestyle moving. All our guests can access every building amenity: from the swimming pool where you can get in morning laps to party rooms and garden decks so you can host new friends.

We fill each unit with comfortable, stylish furniture, appliances, and décor. You’ll never have unwelcome surprises in a DelSuites unit—and you’ll always look professional, no matter where you set up your desk. And once you’ve put in your workday, our soft beds, cozy couches, and high-end televisions can help you relax.

Our rates include high-quality, reliable WiFi that’ll handle your work connectivity needs without a flicker. Our inclusive long-distance calling packages—covering both Canada and the United States—will let you keep up with work and family without having to buy expensive roaming plans. And our full cable TV packages—and complete neighbourhood guides—mean it’s just as easy to plan nights out and nights in.

Explore Toronto with a neighbourhood’s-eye view

Travel’s all about getting the real flavour of a new place—and DelSuites puts you in the real Toronto. Or any of Toronto’s vast, exciting neighbourhoods you’d like.

If you’re looking for fast-paced professional networking, Qwest and The Livmore set you up near Toronto’s tech, arts, and social innovation hubs. If you’d rather be close to the city’s restaurants and nightlife, 300 Front Street West and Republic get you close to two different fine dining neighbourhoods. For nature-lovers looking for regular hikes, living active, and a more laid-back, intimate urban vibe, Old Mill puts you in the city—and right at the door of High Park.

All our locations around the city are fully embedded in living, vibrant neighbourhoods: bustling residential buildings that ease you into Toronto’s daily life. Our digital neighbourhood guides can help you find your local coffee shop, parks, necessary services like pharmacies and groceries, and highlight what’s near you.

While you’re finding your feet, our recommended grocery delivery services can get your kitchen set up—or help you find that one ingredient you need for a perfect meal.

And if you’d rather keep the office at the office, our partnership with Regus Office Space Rentals lets you step into a fully working office space—just as easily as your fully working temporary home. Regus’s 10% discount for DelSuites guests can help you keep your work-life balance affordable.

Travel with everyone you love

Digital nomad living isn’t just for twentysomethings with time to kill. With schools going virtual, there’s lots to discover for the whole family—and you still have a chance to travel and explore without leaving your pets behind.

DelSuites fully furnished apartments are flexible enough to fit your lifestyle. Our two- and three-bedroom suites are big enough to travel with friends or family without getting in each other’s way. There’s enough privacy to set up separate offices—inside, or on our sunny balconies—during the day, or co-work when you like.

If you want to take the kids along, our family-friendly packages will have cribs, highchairs, playpens, and change tables ready and waiting in your unit—or just a complimentary Kids’ Care play package to make sure they have some fun. And your full access to our building amenities means it’s easy to have pool parties or play dates whenever you like.

If you’re hesitating about trying digital nomad life because of a furry friend: DelSuites has you covered. Our pet-friendly units provide a comfortable home for you and your pet—and service animals are welcome everywhere.

A springboard for your digital nomad lifestyle

Digital nomad living doesn’t have to mean roughing it—and in Toronto, it can take any shape you’d like. Whether you’re setting up in the city for a month or six, call us at 647-370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to find out how we can help build a comfortable, hyperlocal home base for your Toronto adventure.

 

Business Travel, Toronto Condos

The New Era in Business Travel: 2022 Trends

May 17, 2022
2022 business travel photo by mentatdgt from Pexels.

Business travel is dead. Or—not?

Since the world pulled inward to combat COVID-19, the business travel industry has been declared dead and resurrected with every pandemic wave. What’s certain, however, is that the growing corporate housing industry, after weathering quick and unpredictable pivots, is starting to see broader change emerge.

The global COVID pandemic hasn’t killed or revived business travel, but it’s definitely changed what business travellers value—and how to approach making guests feel at home.

We’d like to share what we’ve learned about 2022 business travel: how it’s evolving, what’s changed, and what we’re seeing grow into the future.

Trend: 2022 business travel budgets are all about supply chain

The COVID-19 pandemic saw business travel all but shut down as borders closed, offices went remote, and conferences wheeled to a stop. We saw the majority of our 2020 and 2021 bookings come through B2C channels: health care workers staying closer to work, insurance housing, and medical stays for patients travelling to access treatment.

But as 2022 has opened, vaccines have rolled out, and restrictions have loosened in Ontario, we’ve seen employer-assisted travel make a comeback.

Companies are navigating an uncertain landscape as businesses update travel policies to reflect our new reality. Travel managers are reporting new challenges around fuel costs, environmental concerns, continuing supply chain backlogs, and how an evolving employment market has changed per diem expectations.

They’re also facing a changed continent-wide demand for furnished apartments, according to a Corporate Housing Providers’ Association report. Rising urban rents and disruptions in the furniture and housewares supply chains have made furnished housing more expensive.

As industries find the tempo of 2022 business travel, we’ve found they value providers that meet them halfway with stability, flexibility, and transparent options.

Trend: How business travellers use our space

COVID-era living has demanded a new flexibility from our everyday spaces—and that need has carried over to furnished rentals and corporate housing. When more time is spent inside the suite, our guests want to eat, sleep, work, and live comfortably, without feeling constrained.

We’ve noticed an understandable desire for larger spaces, as guests rethink their accommodations as multi-functional space. 2022 business travel is prioritizing spaces that adapt: where guests can move between functional “zones” throughout their day.

But we’ve also supported our guests in making their business travel accommodations do more. We’ve provided more permanent office furniture to enable remote work, helping set up temporary office nooks in spaces that, pre-pandemic, were geared toward off-work hours.

That desire for a fully-stocked temporary office space is a trend we see continuing, as remote work—full-time or sometimes—keeps its place in our lives.

Trend: A COVID plan that works

COVID-aware business travellers are prioritizing safety when they choose their accommodations—and a clear, transparent protocol is more important than ever.

DelSuites implemented a layered response to protect our guests and staff from COVID. We added new cleaning and safety protocols at all levels of interaction, shifted to lighter and no-touch operating models, and incorporated quality PPE into our procedures. All guests are issued standard COVID-19 questionnaires and informed of our protocols on booking.

We’ve seen travellers respond to not just the presence of our COVID plan, but its clear standards and layered components. Each business traveller’s experience of COVID-19 has been different, and a multifaceted plan lets us provide a good welcome to guests from all over the world.

Trend: A stay based on flexibility

After two years of uncertainty, good planning has shifted to mean flexibility. More than ever, business travelers are privileging the ability to flex, adjust, and accommodate their travel plans. At DelSuites, we’ve seen positive responses to all the flexibility we can build into our service offering.

More client-friendly terms and conditions, which allow guests to cancel on shorter notice, extend their stays, or modify their travel dates, have been met with enthusiasm as travel requirements change. Our ability to accommodate guests has been deeply appreciated when they’ve faced delayed or cancelled travel due to flight rescheduling or government COVID mandates.

Our guests have also appreciated flexibility in how we welcome them. The age-appropriate kids’ activities in our family welcome kit have made family travel easier in an era of changing travel requirements. Our pre-arrival grocery request service has also seen more use, as guests shift to using our fully equipped kitchens over local restaurants.

We’ve also found ways to “door drop” guest requests and service, such as grocery orders, cleaning supplies, linens service, and more. While the services we’ve traditionally offered—linens service, suite cleaning—are appreciated, our business travel guests have also reacted positively when we can modify them to keep everyone safe.

While the state of the COVID pandemic constantly evolves, and we won’t be living with extreme levels of COVID forever, we’ve learned important things from that desire for flexibility. Whatever conditions we’re facing, business travelers appreciate being heard and accommodated—and when their provider works with them to make a stay good.

Trend: Balancing technology and the human touch

The social distancing COVID-19 brought us has turbocharged the use of technology for established corporate housing providers. From sales to service delivery, we’ve taken many of the ways we do business digital: live bookings, 24/7 Guest Services availability.

With digital bookings soaring, we’ve upgraded our suite photos and virtual tours to help guests understand our suites from a distance.

We’ve also introduced digital solutions for guest support, with how-to videos for some of our suites’ unique features, such as wall beds and AEG microwaves.

While we can sometimes think tech solutions and personal connections rarely mix, industry experts are actively exploring how to connect with our guests in different ways. We believe the personal touch that real hospitality brings isn’t going away, but ubiquitous digital solutions will change how it’s delivered. Establishing the right balance for our guests—making the digital feel personal, with the right amount of human touch—is going to be a growing trend for successful corporate housing providers.

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Our knowledge of corporate housing is always growing—and we’re always eager to share!

For more DelSuites insights into how business travel is evolving, join us at our blog or get in touch at 647-370-3504 or info@delsuites.com.

Announcements, Business Travel, Corporate Housing

DelSuites Returns to the Global Business Travel Association Conference

April 26, 2022
GBTA 2022

Business travel is picking up across the world, and DelSuites is stepping out to meet it at this spring’s Global Business Travel Association Conference.

We’re pleased to announce our first event of the year: exhibiting at the GBTA 2022 Conference on May 2 and 3, at downtown Toronto’s Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.

What is the GBTA?

The Global Business Travel Association is the business travel industry’s premier professional association. With operations on six continents and over 9,000 members, the GBTA lets us take the international perspective on business. With members from all corners of the business travel industry, GBTA Canada alone represents more than $23.5 billion in business travel.

The GBTA’s annual Toronto event is the leading business travel & meetings conference in Canada. With over 40 exhibitors, a full schedule of industry education sessions, networking opportunities, and sector-focused lunch sessions, it’s a 360-degree look at where business travel is now, and where it’s going.

Growing our industry savvy to help you

DelSuites has been a member of GBTA Canada for over 5 years. The connections we’ve fostered there are an essential part of meeting our guests needs. As GBTA members, we’re in touch with the cutting-edge research, partnerships, and programs that take your stay from good to incredible.

With this year’s theme of (Re)Connect, (Re)Imagine, and (Re)Create, GBTA 2022 is the place to rebuild the networks that sustain business travel—and look forward to what’s new. We’re looking forward to being a part of the conversation as business travel comes back to life.

Join us at GBTA 2022

Join us at Convention Hall 1, Booth 45 to meet our team and discover how DelSuites makes business travel feel just like home. We’ll be there to talk about how DelSuites fits into the new business travel landscape—and bring back what’s next to our guests.

Announcements, Business Travel

Bringing Work and Life Together with DelSuites and Regus Office Space Rentals

March 1, 2022
DelSuites and Regus Office Space Rentals Partnership

You’ve booked your fully furnished Toronto condo suite with DelSuites. Now, you can pair it with a 10% discount on a fully mobility-accessible, 24-hour serviced office space rental from Regus—and step directly into your complete Toronto lifestyle.

DelSuites has partnered with workspace provider Regus International to complete your Toronto business travel experience. With 30 years’ experience finding you the right space to put the best face on your business, Regus opens a world of high-quality, ready-to-use offices that can be customized to your professional needs. Whether you’re a freelancer looking to travel light or confidently representing your multinational firm to clients at a satellite office, DelSuites and Regus let you live and work in convenience and style—at an all-inclusive, affordable price.

A flexible working solution to go with your flexible home

Regus offers office space with the same emphasis on quality, flexibility, and value that we at DelSuites bring to short-term, fully furnished housing. Whether it’s for a few hours on one particular day or a full-time, months-long stay, Regus provides spaces and plans that scale to your working needs.

From coworking and hotdesking memberships tailor-made for consultants to collaboration-friendly startup spaces or private offices, tailored for professionals whose confidentiality is a must, Regus has a solution that’s built to fit your working life.

Customizable co-working plans let you add or subtract services like printing and scanning facilities, full call handling, mail forwarding, bean-to-cup coffee, customized furniture and equipment, and additional meeting room use as you need them—and only when you need them.

Flexible booking terms allow you to grow—or shrink—your workspace as your needs change, or relocate to another Toronto Regus location for the day, week, or month. And our partnered Regus locations are fully mobility-accessible, in order to properly welcome all our guests.

With central, accessible locations in multiple Toronto business hubs—Downtown, Liberty Village, Midtown, North York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough—no matter what neighbourhood you’re in, you’ll never be far from your DelSuites home and a chance to feel truly part of the neighbourhood.

Finally, Regus offices are accessible to you 24 hours a day to accommodate the demands of business travel. You can take an international meeting at any hour, catch up on work as you ease through jet lag, or keep your own comfortable working hours, knowing you’ll have a comfortable home waiting when you’re off the clock.

A fully modern office space rental created with comfort in mind

Regus’s working environments include the vital touches that make DelSuites furnished condos comfortable, welcoming, and a place to call home. Comfortable, high-quality furniture and décor ensure that both you and your colleagues feel welcome, and that your space always sets the right professional tone.

You can enjoy all the perks that make a permanent office a comfortable home for your working life when you step from your DelSuites luxury condo into your Regus office. Host a meeting in a fully equipped boardroom or breakout area, use the built-in videoconferencing studio to make an afternoon Zoom meeting, have a professional reception team greet your guests or collect your overnight deliveries, and rely on a veteran answering service for important calls.

Regus offers services to help you keep your work-life balance, too. On-site coffee bars, sandwich service, and restaurants take care of lunch or midday snacks, and as well as secure parking, bike storage at select locations means you can stay lean—and green—and bike to work.

Work and travel within your budget

With DelSuites, the everyday costs of living are always included in our rates—WiFi, phone plans, cable TV, and the use of our buildings’ recreational and fitness amenities—so you can budget your Toronto trip without the stress of extra fees.

Regus also makes sure you can count on stable rates, with the cost of everything from business-grade WiFi, utilities, cleaning services, CCTV monitoring and security included clearly in your rental rate.

As official partners, DelSuites guests receive a 10% discount on their first office space rental with Regus, and the option of fully virtual office plans that give you a permanent presence in Toronto year-round.

With everything inclusive—and a competitive rate—you’ll be ready to be your best when you arrive: both at home and in the office.

DelSuites and Regus Office Space Rentals Partnership

Contact us at DelSuites by phone at (647) 370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to start off your complete Toronto business travel solution: a fully-serviced home and office ready when you arrive.

Business Travel, Energy Conservation, Toronto Family Travel, Vacation Travel

Your Big Fat Green Vacation: Travel Sustainably with DelSuites

January 25, 2022
Travel sustainably photo by Scott Evans on Unsplash.

After a year of fires, floods, and hurricanes, how to travel sustainably in our networked world is a bigger question than ever.

But as travel restrictions lift and all those trips COVID put off become possible, the question is: how? Without spending cash on carbon offsets, how do we balance the travel we love—or have to make to keep business running—with doing what’s right for our climate?

At DelSuites, we’ve already taken care of the big things: situating our fully-furnished rentals in sustainably-designed, LEED-certified Tridel buildings which are pushing the limits on how eco-friendly a high-rise can be. And our fully paperless booking service also lets you book, bill, and plan your trip while keeping a few trees in the ground.

But if you want to max out your sustainability while you travel, here are a few easy ways you can make that Toronto trip a little greener—and have fun while you do it.

Ditch the plastic toiletries, and get some planet-friendly ones

Everyone always forgets the toothbrush—but it might not be a bad idea, this time. For no more than a few extra dollars, you can forget the toothbrush and pick up a biodegradable, planet-friendly bamboo brush for your stay.

Kensington Market health food store Essence of Life Organics has a whole selection of biodegradable, zero-waste kitchen, laundry, and bathroom products to sample for only a few dollars each—and they offer reliable next-day delivery. Schedule an order before you leave, and you’ll be happily picking up your zero-waste, plastic-free lemon-flavoured dental floss from the concierge on your way through your door.

If you’d like to give that bamboo toothbrush a longer shelf life—and use it for your next five trips, too!—Quebec-based OLA Bamboo also offers a case to take it home in.

Sustainabilify the souvenirs

It’s not a trip without a few treats for the people back home. But it’s easy to make those treats more sustainable, eco-friendly, and longer-lasting.

“Eco-conscious general store” Logan & Finley offers a wide selection of sustainable treats for friends and family back home, from clothes to sustainably sourced specialty chocolate and decadent bath soaks.

In the west end, the laid-back Roncesvalles neighbourhood’s Ecotique puts an emphasis on looking chic, with green accessories, Toronto-themed tea towels, and elegant lounging robes made from upcycled saris. They’re gifts so elegant the environmental impact is just gravy.

Clean up your caffeine

When we’re on the road, all those morning coffees add up. But there are a few cafés that’ll let you get your fix greener while you’re on the go in Toronto.

Low-waste café Poured Coffee is taking the indie coffeeshop entirely package-free: their beans are dropped off by roaster La Marzocco in reusable food-safe bins, their milk in glass bottles, and every cup served goes into a reusable mug or thermos—yours or theirs. Complete with locally sourced baked goods and neighbourhood art, it’s a low-waste haven for east end travelers.

On the west side of the city, regional coffee roaster Reunion Island Coffee Roasters is a certified B-corp focusing on sustainable coffee “from seed to cup”. Powered by renewable energy provider Bullfrog Power, they’ve made every part of their supply chain more sustainable, from compostable wood-pulp coffee bags to fair-trade beans. And if you have to get a few bags delivered, don’t worry; the packaging’s biodegradable too. Drink up!

Send it with pedal power

Have an important package to get across town by end of day? Need a prescription refilled, stat?

Send It Courier is one of Toronto’s all-cargo bicycle courier companies—this one worker-owned and operated, with an A-list client portfolio and reasonable rates (including the highly descriptive “Panic”).

Instead of a cab or a rideshare, hand your parcels—heavy or light!—off to one of those professional cyclists, and do business with no carbon footprint at all.

Love your new green bin

The city of Toronto’s Green Bin program is a citywide way to keep your organics out of landfill. And because DelSuites furnished rentals are residential spaces, your stay lets you access the program.

The rules for Green Bin use may look complicated at first glance, but they’re worth spending five minutes to get to know. The program takes in food waste, coffee and tea grounds, paper plates, tissues, and paper towels—and much, much more.

Instead of piling up garbage, your waste will be turned into compost for the city’s parks and gardens, and biogas to power renewable natural gas programs—a win-win for everyone.

Our smallest gestures count when we travel sustainably

No, your travel toothbrush isn’t going to save the world. But the small choices we make add up, and a few better habits can be enough to make a much-needed trip more sustainable in the long run.

For more sustainable travel planning, contact us at DelSuites by phone at (647) 370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com. We’ll help you make your next visit to Toronto green, clean, and easy.