Part-time living, full-time aesthetic

Steve Patterson's parents owned a small hotel and restaurant in the West Midlands of Worcestershire, England, when he was growing up, so the fact that his three-year-old business provides places to stay in Philadelphia makes perfect sense.

Except that Patterson's Ur Home in Philly (UrHip) places people in need of shorter-term accommodations in one of its 48 homes in the city, Conshohocken and the Valley Forge area rather than in hotel rooms.

"Hotel rooms can get claustrophobic after a time," said Patterson, noting that the apartment homes in his growing UrHip portfolio are a good deal larger.

The average hotel room is 170 square feet. The average UrHip apartment is 725 square feet. In addition, the price is comparable - and sometimes lower than that of a hotel. Studios and one- to three-bedroom units are available.

When Patterson arrived in the United States from Britain 14 years ago, a job in the hospitality industry wasn't on his to-do list.

"I didn't want to work the crazy hours of the hotel business, so I went into the multifamily industry - the unfurnished side," he said.

He worked primarily for large companies, he said, until 2008-2009, when he was caught up in the real estate downturn and downsized.

"I got into corporate housing by accident three years ago," Patterson said.

His home, an apartment at the Lofts at 600 N. Broad, was featured in 2012 on Sweet Retreats, a program that once aired on the Live Well cable network.

It was in that one-bedroom apartment "six blocks from the Convention Center," as it was billed on the Internet, that Ur Home in Philly was launched.

Today, Patterson employs a staff of seven (up from two employees a year ago) to manage 48 apartments, mostly two-bedroom units - 30 more than he had last year.

The largest, he said, "is a 31/2-bath penthouse in the heart of the city."

Although his company specializes in meeting the needs of those who require an extended stay of 30 or more days, Patterson said, he can accommodate briefer trips at some UrHip locations.

UrHip doesn't own the apartments it rents to visitors to the city.

"We sign agreements with property owners whose apartments we rent, and we are up front with them about what we are doing," Patterson said.

"The demand for these apartments is here, and we are, of course, looking for more," he said.

Sometimes, the property owners seek out UrHip to be added to the portfolio "but need to be reassured that we will be looking out for their interests in caring for their apartment homes," Patterson said.

"Often, we work with brokers familiar with the area to find us properties in the locations that are in the biggest demand," he said.

Renters pay monthly for their completely furnished apartments, including all utilities.

"We are one-stop shop," he said. "We provide cleaning services and are available to them 24/7."

"All they have to do is show up with their toothbrush, and we provide the rest," he said, including free gym membership during their stay - some apartment buildings have fitness centers and pools - and the staff keeps tabs on whatever else they need.

"Our office is in Center City and is close to our guests," he said. "We are available at a moment's notice."

Unlike Patterson, not everyone on his company's staff came from the hotel business.

"We train them," he said, adding that most come from customer-service occupations.

His director of housekeeping did work at hotels, however, Patterson said.

Although there is growing demand for his service, at this point at least Patterson has ruled out expansion into other markets and prefers to grow his business here.

"We are not in a rush," he said. "We want to fine-tune our customer service, and focus on doing everything right.

"I don't oppose expansion, but I don't want to jeopardize quality."

215-854-2472@alheavens