Serviced Apartment News reflects on the most notable stories and interviews of 2024.
• Ascott to rebrand Stamford Bridge Hotel as lyf London Chelsea
UK: Hospitality company The Ascott Limited has taken over management of both the Millennium and Copthorne hotels at Stamford Bridge and will rebrand the properties under lyf.
The two Stamford Bridge on-site hotels, collectively known as Stamford Bridge Hotel, are located next to Chelsea Football Club stadium.
Following a renovation in 2025, Stamford Bridge Hotel will be rebranded under Ascott’s lyf brand. The new hotel will be called lyf Chelsea London.
In July, Ascott was named Chelsea FC’s official global hotels partner. The collaboration offers exclusive experiences for Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) members, including access to matches at Stamford Bridge and VIP visits to the club’s Cobham training ground.
• Airbnb partners with BTR operator for short-term lets in the UK
UK: Airbnb is expanding its rent-to-rent model into the UK with immediate effect, via a partnership with real estate developer and manager, Greystar.
The company debuted its Airbnb-friendly apartments [AFA] listing service back in 2022, when it initially partnered with 250 buildings in cities such as Houston, Phoenix, Jacksonville and New York City to enable renters to lease out their apartments on a part-time basis through the platform [when they are not using the property themselves]. Partners on the programme already include Greystar, Starwood Capital Group, GoldOller Real Estate Investments, Milhaus, Space Craft, Equity Residential and UDR Inc.
From 25 November, tenants in almost 1,500 flats across three properties managed by Greystar in London will be able to sublet their homes on a part-time basis. Prospective tenants will be obliged to sign a contract with their landlord to establish key hosting rules for subletting [including limits on the number of nights that a property can be rented out each year], and they will also be required to share between 10 and 25 per cent of their rental revenue with landlords.
Airbnb said that it is “actively discussing” partnerships with more landlords to join the platform and rolling out the service to other parts of the UK.
• Webinar: How AI will transform the real estate and hospitality sectors
A one-hour webinar looking at the implications of burgeoning AI tech and how it will affect real estate and hospitality, featuring an AI Insight Bot as one of the panellists. Speakers and webinar attendees will be able to ask industry-related questions in real time.
We discovered:
• AI’s perspectives on the real estate and hospitality sectors
• The importance of human input in AI-generated-opinions
• AI’s role in design, marketing, pricing, investment decisions and operations
• Time-saving and efficiency applications of AI in real estate and hospitality
• The future – AI advancements for real estate and hospitality
With thanks to:
• Aida, AI Insight Bot, IHM
• Nikodem Szumilo, Director, The Bartlett Real Estate Institute
• Ian Niblock, Senior Director, Product Development, MRI Software
• David Peller, Board Member / Advisor, Travel & Hospitality Technology Investor
• SAN podcast: Up close and personal with David Whelan, Urban Rest
SAN editor Eloise Hanson speaks to David Whelan, founder and CEO of Urban Rest, about the group’s rapid expansion, diversification, and the future of flexible living.
• Video: YOTEL’s CEO on European aparthotel launch
SAN speaks to Hubert Viriot, CEO of YOTEL, about the launch of the group’s first aparthotel in Europe (London) and its mixed-use development strategy, as well as the growth of aparthotel brands. Filmed at YOTEL London Stratford.
• Bob W forms £400 million JV with OCIM
UK: A new joint venture between tech-powered hospitality operator Bob W and Osborne+Co Investment Management [OCIM], the in-house investment management arm of build-to-suit developer Osborne+Co, has launched a £120 million equity raise to acquire and repurpose hotel and office assets into “high-quality” short-term serviced apartments.
The £120 million value-add fund will mirror OCIM’s European footprint of offices, targeting key European markets including Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Poland and the UK. The JV plans to transform 20 to 25 buildings into 1,500 to 2,000 modern apartments and is targeting a gross development value [GDV] in excess of £400 million for its initial development pipeline.
The partnership – which is actively seeking an investment partner – expects its first assets to be operational within 18 months.
By identifying obsolete or underperforming existing assets, the JV will maximise asset performance and significantly enhance overall property value across the new portfolio, while increasing Bob W’s presence in strategically important markets [the company will operate all assets developed under the partnership].
• Global Stays to launch with one million serviced apartments
Worldwide: Corporate travel consortium Hickory Global Partners has launched a joint venture with travel agent group The Advantage Travel Partnership to create an accommodation network, Global Stays.
Global Stays is expected to launch next year and will offer more than one million serviced apartments and more than 60,000 properties worldwide. It will be available to more than 1,900 TMCs, corporate travel departments and corporate direct.
The Advantage Global Hotel Program (GAP) is available for all Advantage members to book via the GDS. The program currently offers over 42,000 properties, ranging from hotel chains to independent properties and serviced apartments.
The Hickory Global Partners Hotel Programme currently provides access to 43,000 hotel properties to 1,500 member locations, including TMCs, corporate travel departments and corporations in 71 countries.
Global Stays will combine Advantage’s presence in the UK and the reach of the Advantage Global Network with Hickory’s membership in North America.
• UK serviced apartment market size and value revealed in report
UK: Trade body The Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) in collaboration with research company BONARD have launched an independent study on UK serviced apartments.
The report – An Independent Review on the Role and Value of Serviced Apartments in the UK – reveals a market size of more than 56,700 across the country. Around half (28,566) serviced apartments are branded, and ASAP members represented 41 per cent of these.
England accounts for 87 per cent of all serviced apartments in the UK, followed by Scotland (nine per cent). At three per cent and one per cent respectively, Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to develop a sizeable supply.
71 per cent of properties are operated under the C1 use class, 26 per cent under C3, and the remaining three per cent are neither (sui generis operations).
Regarding economic contribution, professionally-run serviced apartments generated a turnover of £1.2 billion in 2022. Including single-key operators, the total market value of the sector extends to £1.7 billion.
• Vertus adds serviced apartment buildings
UK: Vertus, the BTR arm of Canary Wharf Group, has expanded its offer with two new serviced apartment buildings at 3 and 15 West Lane.
Designed by HTA Design, the buildings will provide 378 studio apartments available for short-to-medium stays. 3 and 15 West Lane are scheduled for completion in December 2024, opening the doors to its first guest stays in January 2025.
Guests at both buildings have access to shared amenities, including a garden lounge and landscaped terrace, a private dining area, residents’ lounge and coworking hub.
Guests also have access to the Vertus+ programme, a wider social community. The programme ranges from cooking masterclasses to cocktail mixology lessons to Wine Wednesday club gatherings. Each event is designed “to make it easier to meet like-minded people – fostering an instant yet sustainable community spirit”.
Vertus Edit is scheduled to open in February 2025.
• Kutlucan joins Adina as CEO for Europe
EU: Asli Kutlucan, former chief development officer at Cycas Hospitality, has joined Adina Hotels as CEO Europe.
Kutlucan has been with Cycas since 2011 where she was responsible for the growth of the portfolio across the UK and Europe.
She began her career in 1999 as part of the management team at Vanderbilt Hall, a luxury boutique hotel in Rhode Island. Moving to the UK, Kutlucan went on to manage six London hotels for Frasers Hospitality and two independent hotels in Warwickshire.
Additional experience includes a lecturer in hospitality in Rwanda, where she also developed and opened the country’s first boutique hotel.
