You can always ask, and it does happen occasionally, but don’t be too surprised if your request is turned down. Here’s why.
Most corporate apartments aren’t available to tour because they’re generally booked, standardized, and privacy-sensitive. Additionally, providers are set up to offer fast, predictable, hotel-like placements — not custom walk-throughs. Digital tools are the norm these days, and the whole system is built for speed and convenience over personalization.
Speed & Scale of Bookings
Corporate housing often serves relocations, film/TV productions, consulting teams, or displaced families — groups that need quick placement, sometimes within 24–48 hours. The system is designed for efficiency, not for slow sales cycles. When demand is high, properties turn over so fast that by the time a viewing could be arranged, the unit would likely be gone.
Occupancy Turnover Is High
Corporate apartments are usually fully furnished and leased on a short- or medium-term basis. They’re typically booked back-to-back with minimal gaps between stays which makes it hard to schedule tours without disrupting the current occupant. Unlike traditional rentals, there’s not a multi-week vacancy window between tenants where showings can happen.
Privacy & Security
Many of these apartments are occupied when a request for a tour comes in. Showing a unit while a guest is staying there would be a breach of privacy — and could violate both short-term lease agreements and insurance conditions. Even if vacant, the units are often in secure residential buildings, where landlords and building managers are not keen on casual foot traffic from non-residents.
Standardized Inventory
Most reputable corporate housing providers operate much like hotels: they offer standardized units across multiple buildings or cities. Once a client sees sample photos or virtual tours, that’s generally representative of what they’ll get — same furniture, décor, linens, kitchen equipment, etc. They treat their listings more like hotel rooms than unique rental homes, so they don’t expect (or encourage) physical showings the way a property manager for a long-term lease would.
Digital Tools Have Replaced In-Person Tours
Most corporate housing providers now rely on:
- 3D virtual tours
- Extensive photo galleries
- Reviews from past corporate clients
- Floor plans and amenity breakdowns
These digital assets help clients make decisions quickly and confidently, even sight-unseen. In many cases — especially with large productions — decision-makers are remote anyway and wouldn’t be able to physically tour properties even if it were an option.
Exceptions Do Happen
The vast majority of units are not directly owned by the company offering the unit for rent. However, in some cases if the client is high value, the provider has a vacant unit or building management is flexible, they might arrange a viewing, but it is solely at their discretion. Some providers also maintain dedicated model units that are used for marketing and showings, but this is more common in cities like New York with dense corporate housing footprints.
Bottom Line
You don’t really need to see your corporate apartment in-person in the same way you don’t need to see your hotel room at a major brand hotel chain before you book. You can book with confidence.
Comments are closed