SAN publisher International Hospitality Media has announced the launch of the Urban Living Festival, which will take place in London in early July.
Urban Living Festival (ULF) will connect the global community of contemporary hospitality and real estate professionals to collectively define the future of how and where people stay, live and work.
Changing demographics, social and economic drivers are fuelling investment decisions as investors put a greater focus on Urban Living asset classes.
ULF welcomes urban innovators and investors at the cutting edge of hospitality and real estate to explore the macro and micro drivers behind the growth of urban living and the challenges, opportunities and solutions in each market segment.
Curated with an intense focus on collaboration and debate, ULF brings CEOs, industry-leading speakers, sponsors and service providers to collectively share best practice, network, map the industry’s future and do business in the following areas:
• Hotels and serviced apartments
• Aparthotels / extended stay hotels
• Hostels, co-living and co-working
• Build-to-rent (BTR) and student accommodation
• Short-term rentals
• Assisted living
• Healthy Buildings, sustainability and wellness
• PropTech
Incorporating IHM events: Serviced Apartment Summit Europe, and the ENGAGE corporate travel buyer forum, ULF places the spotlight directly on investment, development, supply, operations, brands, distribution and demand generators in the age of convergence.
Brought to you by IHM, the only hospitality media company that specialises in events, news and information websites and awards dedicated to these dynamic growth areas of hospitality real estate.
Why Attend?
We believe that to inspire future trends in ULF, we need to look beyond what’s happening right now and think about what’s next. Whether you’re an avid urbanist, devoted operator, developer, investor or aspiring entrepreneur, ULF will encourage you to think differently. The event promises to grip and engage hospitality and real estate innovators like never before, challenging you to open your eyes to new perspectives over two days in and around London.
ULF brings together a highly curated international collective of hospitality and real estate’s most forward thinking organisations and individuals. Uniquely participant-driven, providing a context for connection, where leaders do business, build relationships and share ideas that define the evolution of Urban Living.
The programme will be debate driven with hosted “unlock the neighbourhood” sessions hosted at new and cutting-edge developments in the city, and on property showcases and networking sessions.
Piers Brown, CEO of International Hospitality Media, says: “Having hosted numerous events within co- working, co-living, hostels, BTR, hotels and serviced apartment venues over the last few years, attendees are already witnessing the convergence of urban hospitality and real estate first-hand – it makes sense to bring everybody together for this unique experience of doing business.”
The market
• 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, this is expected to reach 68% by 2050. • In 1950, 79% of the UK population lived in cities; this will rise to 92.2% by 2030.
• 40% of the urban areas required by 2030 are not yet built.
Sub-sectors
Student Housing
• 1.7m students are studying full time in the UK with applications rising 7% year-on-year. • International student numbers have grown by 70% in the last ten years.
Build-to-rent & PRS
• The number of build-to-rent homes in the UK has increased by 30% in 12 months. (The British Property Federation / Savills, April 2018)
• The UK rental market will grow by 2 million+ by 2030, driven primarily by ‘Generation Rent’
Co-living & co-working
• Landlords and developers now creating spaces for particular demographic groups.
• Demand drivers are housing shortage, rising housing costs ageing population & more mobile working population.
Serviced apartments
• Global apartment totals have reached 1,096,547 with the number of destinations/locations up 22%.
Short-term rentals
• UK Airbnb listings rose by 200% between 2015 and 2017.(Residential Landlords Association)
• Global vacation rental market will close in on £170 billion by 2019. (Research and Markets)
Assisted living
• Global ambient assisted living market to reach USD 13.74 billion by 2027 • Demand drivers include costly complex/health care needs.
Apartment Living
• 4.6 million new apartments are needed by 2030 to meet US demand for rental living • In 2017, apartment completions topped 345,000, up 21% on 2016.
PropTech
• 93% believe “Traditional real estate organisations need to engage with PropTech companies in order to adapt to the changing global environment” (KPMG Global PropTech Survey 2018)
What do industry leaders think of Urban Living Festival?
“ULF is a long needed innovative approach. The blend of content demonstrates that hospitality provides the increasingly crucial thread through so many real estate classes and not only refers to traditional hotels and serviced apartments but has already permeated the residential markets in their increasingly varied formats. Now these services are expanding into the residential innovative care and office markets in the UK and overseas. We are witnessing the market converging at pace as investors seek optimum yield across a variety of urban asset classes. These are exciting and pioneering times and I look forward to expanding my horizons at this unique event.”
• Laurence Geller CBE, Geller Capital Partners
This conference is the only one in Europe which addresses this important growing area covering all aspects of urban living. The focus on the future of integrating real estate, new hospitality concepts, and shared economy all in one event is why HoCoSo has been supporting this event since its inception. The energy, dialogue and connections are superb. This conference is an absolute must for those keen to be engaged in the future of hospitality real estate.”
• Jonathan Humphries, chairman, HoCoSo
“We’re witnessing a groundswell of alternative accommodations challenging the status quo as to how we will stay, live and work – it’s already at the centre of many conversations. I am delighted to be part of the first true Urban Living event that addresses the complex issues of branding, distribution, supply, regulation, UX, technology and more.”
• Sean Worker, managing director, T5 Strategies
“It’s great to see the Urban Living Festival embracing the many facets of hospitality and real estate that are converging to ultimately define Urban Living today.”
• Fred Lerche-Lerchenborg, CEO, Lavanda
Tickets will go ‘live’ later this month, with a newly designed website. For more information, sponsorship enquiries or speaker opportunities, please email info@internationalhospitality.media or telephone +44 (0)208 340 7989
