Living in a hotel: The new development trend hitting Australian cities
Regular housekeeping, access to room service and the ability to pretend you’re on holiday every day of the year.
That’s what is being offered at a new crop of apartments that adjoin hotels.
In Perth, apartments above the recently completed QT Hotel are now on the market and give new residents the opportunity to share the facilities offered by the luxury brand.
The apartments start from $500 a week and are offered furnished or unfurnished.
The median unit price across Perth is currently $330 a week, according to the latest Domain Group data.
Knight Frank is handling the leasing campaign for the residential-zoned section of the building on behalf of QT, which consists of one and two-bedroom apartments.
Knight Frank director, head of property management WA, Tom Berry said new tenants would have the option of accessing the adjoining hotel services and facilities, including room service and housekeeping.
“This is a unique opportunity to live a ‘rock star’ lifestyle in an amazing CBD location with full access to what is undoubtedly the coolest and most talked-about hotel in Perth,” Mr Berry said.
He said the apartments had always been designated as residential as part of the hotel’s development and that he was unaware of any similar property in the Perth market.
The apartments would be leased under WA’s tenancy laws on a six or 12-month basis.
In Melbourne, Accor Group’s Peppers brand is currently offering properties for lease as part of its Shadow Play by Peppers development in Southbank.
Similar to the QT in Perth, residents can access hotel facilities, discounts on in-house food and beverage and weekly cleaning (at an additional fee).
Developed by luxury property developer BPM Corp, the 46-storey Shadow Play by Peppers hotel was opened in May.
It’s not the first time the Accor-owned brand has been associated with a residential component at its Australian developments.
Apartments in the Peppers Fortitude Value development in Brisbane are also available for long-term rent.
Separate to these residential developments, Accor also offers long-stay programs in its hotels, with Simon McGrath, Chief Operating Officer for Accor Pacific, stating that 25 per cent of the portfolio is suitable for long term leasing.
In Melbourne, a specialised long stay program offered at the brand’s Art Series properties has been popular with professionals looking to relocate closer to the city.
“Art Series Residences offers its own long stay program, after observing a number of regular guests loving their suites so much they decide to move in, swapping their suburban commute and the rising cost of living, for a more cost effective consolidated lifestyle,” Mr McGrath said.
A growing trend
Mixed hotel and apartment developments are a relatively new concept in Australia, but developers are attracted to the projects as they can diversify their portfolio while still capitalising on the high margins offered by residential projects.
Recent negative conditions in the residential development market may have also given this model a boost.
Tom O’Neill, senior executive, investment services at Colliers International told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2018 that while residential developments had historically provided the greatest profit and were subsequently the top choice for developers, changing Sydney CBD market dynamics – partly in response to a curb on residential lending – have led to the emergence of mixed-use projects as a profitable asset class.
”Property’s highest and best use has changed over the past few years and as a result we have recently been providing advice to a large number of CBD owners on best use for their properties, to help owners capitalise on values,” Mr O’Neill said.
But the trend isn’t just restricted to residential-led mixed-use projects. Savills Hotels’ Michael Simpson, Vasso Zographou and Ben Azar, and McVay Real Estate’s Sam McVay and Dan McVay recently closed an expressions of interest campaign for a proposed “lifestyle hotel” and A-grade office tower redevelopment project slated for the Bligh House site in Sydney’s CBD.
Mr Simpson said the mixed-use hotel model was already popular overseas and that they were expecting strong demand for the site at 4-6 Bligh Street.
“Mixed-use projects are favoured by investors and end-users for the diversity of income streams they provide and the enhanced upside potential. They are very popular in Asia, and we’re looking to promote that ‘work, stay, play’ mentality here,” said Mr Simpson.
