Invest in boutique destinational coliving

Purchase, fitout and operation of property as destinational coliving spaces. A short to mid term hospitality-oriented model significantly above rental rates, serving remote workers by offering in-house coworking facilities, alongside connection and adventure.

For more details than presented here, please contact: jacob@hub.house Whatsapp

Satellite workation properties

• under ^€250^k capex
• over 25^% net yield


• rates 20^% below market
• €1000+ month/room
• 2–8 week longer stays


• coworking for remote work
• over 40^% common spaces


• facilitation for great experiences
• towns for vivacity
• nature for adventure

A high yield approach

• acquisition of low-cost properties to renovate and refit
• space planning and fitout for optimised uses
• more smaller private rooms, and more common spaces
• less obvious locations brought alive with community facilitation
• balances lower overheads with higher rates

A growth goal

To develop renovation and fitout techniques and operational processes that scale cost effectively, delivering multiple locations to expand the choice, creating recurring members remaining loyal. Potentially including better connected metros alongside countryside escapes.

The market

The segment offer is that of a slow travel workation — a longer getaway for professionals whom can travel whilst they work, taking advantage of down time for adventure and camaraderie.

Opportunity

Changing lifestyles allow location flexibility, but…

• hotels are expensive, bland and lack usable common spaces
• random AirBnBs have bad workspace
• no-contact isolation versus participation with others

Boutique destinational coliving guests pay for…

• a community of like-minded professionals upon arrival
• better and more shared facilities
• organised opt-in activities and entrepreneurial exchange
• multiple ergonomic workspaces in the building
• inclusive transparent pricing with flexible booking
• expanding our horizon of possibilities

Audence

Digital nomads seeking to break isolation without hassle, and remote-working professionals seeking escape from usual routines whilst remaining connected — amongst a similarly aligned community with whom to share experiences.

1. digital nomads — a niche but expanding audience whom intrinsically work away semi-continiously; reliable easy to target reoccuring demand, though lower tolerence for higher prices
• no well established size, but estimates over 40m global
• informally up to 80m if including workations
• over 20% of nomads work with employer recognition and support
2. adventurous professionals combining remote work with travel only on occasion — seeking an escape from the city, invigoration and interesting connections; harder to target yet larger audience with better spending power
• no known size but coworking members closely align as a segment having over 1.5m members in 6800 spaces across Europe
• platforms such as Airbnb report stays of 28+ days now account for very significant revenue
• workations have 11.7% compound growth
• 650,000 UK remote workers have moved abroad or become digital nomads / slow travellers (LiveCareer)
• roughly 1 in 3 knowledge workers plans at least one workation trip per year (multiple studies)
• 72% of remote-capable employees in the EU expressed the intent to take a workation (Eurofound/SD Worx)
• 60% of EU "knowledge work" is now hybrid-eligible (McKinsey)
3. team retreats and retreat organisers — however these introduce issues due to exclusive use, but can be offered out of season

Comparatively

Sits neatly between traditional hospitality (hotels, guesthouses) and long-term lettings (rentals), with a highly adjustable proposition (e.g. pandemics, seasons).

	lettings	coliving	hospitality
pricing	low	mid	high
operations	low	mid	high
churn	low	mid	high
flexibility	low	mid	high
investment	low	variable	variable

Properties

The first location — the south of France

• a world-class tourist destination yet underappreciated amongst digital nomads
• under represented in the category — only 3 spaces in same class (see map)
• varied envionment and activities, great food
• founder is based and has experience here

Candidates

Fitout and facilities

Accommodation classes will cover the breadth of the market ensuring both demand reslience and community diversity (varies per property).

Designed for simultaneous uses by multiple members. Almost all colivings fail at many levels, whether a small kitchen, intrusive access to bedrooms through a workspace, or simply carrying clothes from a washer up 5 storeys — at scale becoming problems.

Having experience both operating and using such spaces, the founder understands the design principles to maximise both function and interaction, increasing attractiveness and value.

• no more than 15 rental beds — to remain outside regulation (France)
• smaller private rooms to optimise capacity, with larger common spaces
• primarily ensuite rooms (some premium), plus some basic rooms and pods
• affordably functional and cosy with unique features — avoiding statement design, considering higher wear and tear
• multi-station kitchen with multiple fridges and generous easy-access storage
• casual coworking plus focus coworking / library
• call booths away from workspace
• multi-purpose lounge
• outdoor space / BBQ

Funding

• €80k from founder
• upto €25k sweat equity from artisan for renovation lead
• upto €15k sweat equity from founder for renovation labour
• Requirements: €140k, phased with partial launch possible

Spend

• no labour
• property acquisition
• renovation materials
• fitout, furnishings and equipment
• renovation workers/volunteers
• minibus (2nd hand)
• operational runway (nominal)
• marketing (nominal)

An operational platform shall be provided for use by the founder, including hilighted positioning on the coliving.community website.

Phasing

Properties have opportunities to launch partially at different compleition points, both mitigating risk from renovation in case of over run, or in case of deferred funding.

Preliminary launch

• covers running costs
• rudimentary common areas
• few rooms with shared bathrooms
• pricing around €500/month per room

Basic launch

• more rooms and some ensuites
• better finishing
• pricing around €700/month per room

Full launch

• full revenue capacity
• all facilities + minivan
• facilitation by volunteers with training
• pricing over €900/month per room

Model

This proposition leverages typically small old hotels and and larger village houses that no longer provide adequate yield due to requiring renovations, so having very low acquisition costs.

Refit of such smaller atypical properties avoids wasting capital on a functioning property that still needs works to optimise, else a functioning property that is not optimised and thus less appealing.

Operations will follow defined processes including volunteer training to mitigate the variable levels of community management found in many coliving spaces, supporting scaling.

• integrated property ownership and operations, addressing market demand through direct investment in optimal facilities — few operators plan and invest adequately (including those launching as coliving), thus a significant differentiator
• community facilitation and housekeeping through founder-trained volunteer staff employing sector best practices
• wide accommodation offer spanning lower to mid-upper (potentially also higher)
• 1-week stays permitted addressing city escapes for busy professionals (usual minimum 2 weeks)
• longer stay discounts (better community and reduced onboarding)
• potential additional revenue stream with team retreats (during off season)
• pandemic survivable due to small number of people and longer stays

Note: This is not leveragable real-estate, these properties will have limited appreciation, however may be leveragable to aid expansion.

Differentiation

The market is not sufficiently saturated, even amongst spaces exclusively taregtting digital nomads, to need significant differentiators, however having some helps significantly build return guests and reputation.

• purpose designed spaces and fitout
• below market rates (initially)
• ergonomic separated lively and focus coworking
• high proportion of ensuites
• lively and focus social spaces
• nature, shops, transit at door
• community focus

Primarily the common spaces as very few colivings actually optimise facilities, e.g. one well known space having 24 residents has a tiny kitchen with a single 4-ring hob, and call booths that are not sound proofed. Additionally many do not offer ensuites which are strongly preferred, as typical homes used as colivings have a shared bathroom layout that these operators cannot optimise.

In addition it is uncommon to have multiple spaces for a given use, e.g. when residents have a fun social gathering but the coworking is adjacent, work is interrupted.

Other spaces have highly variable community experience across the year as they do not train their volunteers, with a small investment in this it will be more consistent.

Please refer to individual property reports for specific location details and differentiation.

Revenue

Some operational differentiation between high and shoulder seasons, due to a higher level of staff requirements, whilst shoulder and off season residents contribute more to upkeep themselves.

• VAT exempt
• 2-month closure per-year (subject to location)
• 2 units reserved for staff (subject to capacity)

Assumptions

Pricing is ball-parked at around €1000/month per room, there is potential to raise this significantly.

• discounted rates -20% versus compeition thus potential to increase over time, exceeding 35% net yield
• ~60% occupancy on 80%+ achievable (85% peak, 60% shoulder, 40$ low)

Competition

Marketing

• direct interaction — on forums and in online groups, undertaken by volunteer-staff posting unique content (this is the most common method used by coliving spaces, however few produce content and only post offers/availability)
• platform leverage — promotion through the founder's own coliving directory site
• residency programmes — offering free stays to those having a strong network
• coworking space managers
• capable of enhancing the community with content (talks, workshops, etc)
• indirect networks
• guest satisfaction, frequently make recommendations as there are few great colivings
• facilitator training, will often spend time at other spaces
• advertising — reddit / facebook targetting for digital nomads and coworking space users
• sponsorships — may sponsor digital nomad events

Once a strong brand is established active promotion is not required as demand is quickly self-fulfilling.

Operations

Min stay and facilitation can be increased or reduced by season to reduce overheads, fixed move-in dates can be introduced to reduce operations.

• functioning in the category auberge collectif (France) permitting 15 beds for rental without restrictions up to 90 days
• low-cost staffing backed by founder training
• residents significantly look after themselves (housekeeping is provided, and room cleaning may be offered)
• cleaner at least twice a week
• volunteers as community facilitator (with accommodation)
• volunteers as driver for outings and trips
• volunteers for some cooking and aditional cleaning

Risks

• property tax and zoning — change of use to an auberge collectif (same as 1-star hotel) the property tax will increase substantially, potenitally doubling above residential
• regulation — over 15 beds, a licence and handicap access are required
• slow delivery — due to requiring not insignificant renovation and fitout works (e.g. new partitions, plumbing, eletrics, finishing, …)
• should the comitted labour not be adequate, volunteers should easily be found to assist if provided with adequate reward; worst-case local artisans would be used (expensive and slow in France), where significant works are required, labourers from cheaper countries can be hired and given accommodations
• low appreciation and leverageability — only suitable for similar uses (hostel/hotel) in the case of resale

Growing to multiple locations with below market rates and well facilitated community experiences building a loyal membership returning amongst the locations.

The format is essentially that of a hostel with long stays no churn from nightly guests, equipped with dedicated separate live work spaces, usually comprising an open plan kitchen-dining-lounge, a casual workspace, and a library lounge focus workspace. Accommodations being balanced between ensuites private rooms (ideally at least 1 premium), and capsules/pods, thus enabling diversity amongst members, and addressing market breadth. This approach results in a fit-for-purpose building ideally specified for remote-worker use in interesting locations that are attractive to keep visiting time and time again. With rates significantly discounted to encourage monthly stays, operations are low overhead. The sole notable operational matter is facilitator/staff/volunteer training, which the founder can undertake on a rotational basis. The founder will retain 1 room for full time use during the startup phase and ensure ongoing operations such as training and quality assurance during volunteer changeovers.

Mutualised fractional use — this has been withdrawn and is unlikely to be revisted however if interested do reach out to stay informed should a combined coliving–cohousing project open up where individual units can be owned outright or for fractional use. The approach would enable a group of backers to purchase and fitout a building, offering guarenteed use and/or dedicated units as a larger hub property, only partly operating commercially, the majority being at-cost. About this.

operational efficiency low-churn results in reduced onboarding and fewer changovers guests/members have lower expectations (except for community faciliation) and also contribute towards cleanliness collectively staff will be volunteers with a stipend and training, in addition to the more typical free accommodation; resulting in better retention the founder will be present for each staff rotation, with slight overlaps for redundancy market breadth targetting the full market potential whereas most colivings exclusively target digital nomads (famously cost sensitive, yet still coliving enthusiasts) the wider market includes most remote-work capable professionals we'll utilise coworking manager residency programs to reach the users of coworking spaces whom are prime candidates unlike nomads leverage the founder's coliving.community site

What's a coliving hub?

🏡

A shared home and workspace, where we also share some of our purpose and learnings.

🛤

For a workation to escape routine, as a retreat to dig into projects, or as a base.

👩‍💻

Be you an entrepreneur, remote worker, digital nomad, a creative, or anything else!

The founder — Jacob Jay

• ex. technical director with a small London marcomms agency
• created the first blended+hybrid coliving+coworking
• ran for 4 years as a social enterprise
• empty building given basic fitout
• 12 beds, 10 desks, event space, onsite cook
• bespoke tech for member management
• after 18 months solely responsible, identified and handed operations over to local director, yet visited part-time
• aided a partner to open a co-branded location
• many diverse tech/UX roles with startups
• undertaken renovation in France, reselling at 220% in #2 tourism destination
• actively tracking the coworking and coliving movements since their emergence
• guest at many coliving spaces and p/t digital nomad
• started a (pre-pandemic) crowdfunding campaign to renovate a mill in Portugal as a coliving; met the town council but ultimately rejected
• creator of the coliving.community directory with 400+ manually classified spaces

‍🏸

Benefit from shared facilities (cinema, bikes, workspaces, ice-cream maker, …).

🍀

Get closer to nature whilst remaining connected to the wider world.

💰

Stay affordably, buying into use of properties as you are able.

‍🎪

Be part of community respecting innovation and independence.

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Example properties…

€197k L1000m² lovely with big garden in village amongst hills, good surroundings but remote-ish, part-usable €56k M500m² base of central Pyrenees, station, city 1h, mountains, riverside garden, needs works but hey—so cheap! €140k M500m² base of central Pyrenees, garden, mountain hikes from door, ready to use €750k XL1800m² Cevennes / Ardeche, great surroundings, pool and bambouseraie, ready to use €97k XL1500m² Cevennes / Ardeche; great surroundings, station; garden, solid empty shell

Due to a huge slump in sales (2000+ agents closed) there's good choice of properties, even fully functional hotels for under €0.5m. Most need works such as replacing windows with double-glazing, but allows optimisation of layout and facilities. Having done a bit before I'm ready to get my hands dirty again.

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