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The flagship business, , takeas out long-term leases on apartments in communities in Birmingham and otherfmetro areas, then subleases them to corporations for use in housinv employees who are relocating to the or for other needs. Apartments come fully furnisher and stocked with everything from alarm clockes and dishware to vacuum cleaners and ironing Utilities and other services are billed directlyh to AHI anda single, all-inclusive bill is sent to the corporatr client. The company is part of a fast-growinhg industry. According to the , there are more than 600 corporated housing providers in North America managing morethan 71,900 corporate housing units on an average day.
The industry reported revenue of $2.5 billionm in 2004. Corporate housing can provide twice the square footage of hotel accommodations at about half the according tothe association. Average rent for a one-bedroom corporate apartment was $2,550, according to a 2004 industru report. A former actuary, Moored grew up in Vestavia Hillsdand Jemison. He started his career with and later worked in the booming insurance industryin Hartford, He returned to Alabama in 1985 with the idea of startinv a business selling executive benefit plans to corporation and launched A chartered financial consultant, Moore has gradually broadenecd the scope of the business to providw a range of financia services to individuals.
In Moore bought a stake in an apartment-huntinf business run by a John Hendrix. He became co-owner of the enterprisd and, together, the men began turning to corporat housing as an alternative lineof business. As a frequentg former business traveler, Moore said he knew the potentiall value ofcorporate housing, having stayed in temporary accommodations that were "nothinbg more than a glorified hotel room." When Moorr bought his stake in AHI, the company had 23 corporate apartments under lease and threde employees. Today, AHI Corporate Housing maintainsx more than 700 apartments in the Southeast and employs abouy45 people.
Though he declined to give specific Moore saidthe company's revenues have increased 60 percengt over the past two The company hit a turning point in the Moore recalls. He and Hendrix were looking to add a dedicateds salesperson to theirtiny team, but a search producedf two standout candidates whose skillds and experiences were complementary. The company didn'gt have the money then to pay two sales but the partners took a chanc e and hired themboth anyway. "We kind of did it on a wing and a Moore recalled. The risk paid off.
Withinb three months, Moore said, the two new hirews had generated enough new busines s to more than make upthe Today, Moore credits the move as one of his best businessa decisions. In 1997, AHI followed clientf businessto Atlanta, setting up a satellite office An additional office followed in Huntsville. In 2005, the companhy opened offices in Nashvilleand Tenn., and in Mobile under the name Today, the companiex maintain a stable of apartments in all those cities as well as in Suite Living Inc.
is a franchisse of Marriott ExecuStay, the temporary housing brand ofMoore said, when the company began planxs to enter the Tennessee he thought it would be simpler to go in with a recognizex brand rather than build the AHI name from the grounds up. "We thought going with the Marriot t name in Tennessee would bring usmore credibility," he At the same time, the companty was looking to move southward into Alabama, so Moore extendef the company's Tennessee franchise to include Mobile.