US: Apartment provider Jurny has announced its expansion in the US, as well as the addition of units in London and Tel Aviv.
Founded two years ago, Jurny made its launch official last month with the announcement of a $2.75 million funding round, led by Okapi Venture Capital and Mucker Capital.
It currently operates aroubd 160 units in Dallas, Miami and Nashville, and this month signed deals to increase its presence in the latter two cities, as well as expand to London and Tel Aviv, which will bring the units available to 200. It has another 2,500 units in the pipeline, including a site in Los Angeles.
Co-founder and president David Phillips said: “The timeframe of bringing the units online depends on the deal. Some we will close agreements on in the next two to three weeks and will go live anywhere from 90 days to six months to a year. We’re working on a letter of intent now for 150 units in downtown Los Angeles, but that will be a remodel into a Jurny hotel, so that will take about a year.”
The company zones a majority of its units as hotels, so it is compliant with local laws and able to offer nightly rates. The current average length of stay is three nights, Phillips said.
Prior to Covid-19, Jurny’s guest breakdown was 45 per cent each for business and leisure, and 10 per cent extended stay. During the pandemic, those numbers shifted to 35 per cent leisure, 25 per cent business and 40 per cent extended stay.
The company signs management agreements as opposed to master leases. Phillips said: “There was the temptation to grow quickly and very early, but we knew if we focused on doing things no one else was doing, the opportunity in the long run was to have a massive competitive advantage and create long-term value, which will work only if we are the management company and align interests with the owners. It might be a little bit of an uphill battle in the beginning to sign management agreements instead of master leases, but once we start executing and delivering, adding value and improving the bottom line, they’ll want to grow with us.”</p
