Airbnb doesn’t like being thought of as your friendly neighborhood disruptor and has found a new alternative to the more traditional rented house/apartment/room (or castle, a tiny house, treehouse, converted barn loft, etc…): branded apartment complexes.
San Francisco based home-sharing partner group Airbnb has formed a partnership with Newgard Development Group (known as “Niido Powered by Airbnb”) to create the space-sharing concept, which will be comprised of 324 units, starting with Kissimmee, FL (just south of Orlando) and is slated to be available for move-in sometime in 2018.
The units will have amenities of a hotel such as keyless entry and an app that will allow tenants to check-in remotely. On-demand cleaning and luggage services will also be available, making the process much more streamlined for both guests and tenants.
Upon signing an annual lease, residents may rent out their apartments through Airbnb for up to 180 days, and thus must of course, remain as full-time residents for at least half of the year.
This should help to cut down on issues where landlords were replacing tenants’ leases and rental agreements with a full-time Airbnb gig.
The setup of the branded apartment complex encourages home sharing, and offers a communal environment in which all neighbors are either hosts, or guests.
Okay, so while it kind of sounds like a hotel rather than an apartment, (a timeshare, even) Airbnb does still want to keep that “hominess” aspect that defines the brand, intact. It’s been reported that they will be providing some design assistance, though will remain hands-off in ownership interest in the building.
It’s too soon to say how lucrative a spot in one of these elusive buildings will be or how much a spot will cost, but it can’t be helped to wonder at what point does this sort of expansion stop Airbnb from being… Airbnb?
With this many parties involved, it does sort of lose its charm as being a unique travel experience people have come to expect with Airbnb. I mean, it’s not a yurt in Alaska, after all.
Expansion for the branded apartment complexes will be prioritized in Miami and the Southeast, but is expected to branch out into other cities such as Nashville, TN, Charleston, SC, and “cities in Texas.”
CEO Harvey Hernandez stated that the plan was to build over 2,000 units over the next couple years. Lookout world, The Grand Budapest Airbnbs will be hitting a city near you.
