UK: Urban Living News has hosted a networking breakfast and discussion about the future of rentals, sponsored by Airbnb.
The event, held at Uncommon Holborn in London, was called ‘What will renters want in 2030?’ and had a focus on the evolution of the BTR sector, but also looked beyond, to PBSA, coliving and later living.
An interactive discussion was led by ULN editor George Sell, with speakers Damon Gacicia of Airbnb, Katherine Rose of VervLife, Alastair Mullens of Canary Wharf Group and Maria Hatch of Greystar.
There were numerous contributions from the audience, which included representatives from CompassRock, Brookfield, Hines, Lomond Asset Management, Bidwells, Dandi, Get Living, Goodstone Living, Gravity Co, Lowy Group, Moda Living, Octopus Real Estate, Packaged Living, Quintain Living, and Viridian Apartments.
Some key takeaways were:
• With comparatively little variation in product, amenity and pricing, meaningful human interactions with customers and excellent service is what will give the best operators the edge
• The Renters Rights Bill is going to be more disruptive than a lot of people realise, particularly when tenants challenge rent price increases en masse, which is highly likely if the Bill is passed in its current form
• There is still a disconnect between good design from an operational standpoint and value engineering a build – owner/developer/operators such as Greystar and Canary Wharf Group are at an advantage in this respect but there are still improvements to be made
• Pricing is important – many renters would happily trade a reduction in amenity provision for a lower rent. Amenity-light buildings could lead to margin improvements for owners as, although amenity is relatively cheap to build, it’s expensive to operate and maintain
• With fluctuating energy prices still a real issue, there is increasing demand from tenants for all-inclusive rents
• The ability for tenants to officially list their home on Airbnb is becoming an item on their wish list when selecting a building, and can financially benefit tenant and building owner.
If you are interested in partnering with ULN to host a similar event, please contact Piers Brown at piers@internationalhospitality.media
