The 7th edition of the Serviced Apartment Summit Europe took place last month at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, in London.
HoCoSo was proud to be a sponsor at this year’s event, which gathered more than 350 hotel executives from the expanding sector of serviced apartments, extended and short-stay, and aparthotels.
In a recent Linkedin post, Jonathan Humphries, Chairman HoCoSo, mentioned: “The topics discussed this year revolved around urban living in serviced apartments and extended stay concepts. The delegates present ranged from technology specialists to service platforms, hotel operators, to hospitality advisors, etc…” He adds that what stood out is the fact that nowadays, consumers can and do choose from any and all the different categories of accommodation out there, when they travel.
The topics were heavily focused on Co-living and Co-working concepts in the industry. In the panel discussion on “Mixed-use developments, co-living and co-working experiences in one”, moderator Jonathan Humphries was joined by Paul Rands, Vice President of International Development for BridgeStreet; Daniel Jung, General Manager of QUARTERS Co-Living for UK and Ireland and Vice President of Expansion for the EMEA region; Thomas Lamson, Chief Development and Project Officer for Aparthotels Adagio; and Volker Thamm, Head of Development for SV Hotel. The panelists tackled the rise of these mixed-use developments and the trending movement of work, rest and play all at the same time.
In his interview with George Sell, from Serviced Apartment News, Jonathan explains the need to follow megatrends and finding solutions that respond adequately to the changing needs of the modern traveler and citizen. Take global mobility, for example: “Essentially, close to 45% of the workforce is going to be globally mobile within the next few years. In the city I live in [Zurich] nearly half of the city population is living by themselves. Now if you think about the human need for community, for interaction, for a sense of connection, […] then the creation of co-living concepts makes sense – […] you still have your own private space and you can also have a communal space, where you can meet, socialize, and feel like you belong, from almost day one…”
Watch the full interview:
Jonathan Humphries, chairman of HoCoSo, talks to SAN’s George Sell about mixed-use development, co-living and co-working. Filmed at the 2019 Serviced Apartment Summit in London.
Since the sharing economy made its mark during the last decade, it has proved that transforming assets into flexible serviced inventory is beneficial to the actual owner. Hence investors and operators alike, have been searching for the next product that will disrupt the industry for the years ahead. And the benefits that come with concepts such as co-working and co-living are numerous. So what if all these co-words were to be combined?
Jonathan, renowned for his insight and experience in what he calls the “Co-Everything” movement – essentially, a combination of all the ‘co-words’ proliferating around the hospitality sector nowadays – says: “The key takeaway from this panel is that co-living, co-working and co-existence are all about creating 24/7 built environments for the modern travelers. Having mixed-use concepts that incorporate aparthotels, residential, and retail experiences, all in one, has proven to be beneficial for investors since they get different returns from these investments. But in this growing sector, there needs to be a clear concept differentiation, targeting different types of consumers as they all co-exist in one building. The clearer the product, the concept, the better operators and brands can target different customers and not compete with one another.”
Want to find out more about Co-working and Co-living?
>> Read Jonathan Humphries’ take on the proliferation of “co-words” in the hospitality industry, and his view on how these two concepts have set their marks in the sector.
About HoCoSo
HoCoSo are advisors with a difference. We create tailor-made and innovative solutions for clients’ hospitality-led projects by bringing together the optimum team of sector specialists. Jonathan Humphries, Chairman and Owner of HoCoSo, and his direct team specialize in the extended-stay, co-living, and hotel-alternatives hospitality market; luxury, lifestyle and boutique hotels; and resort developments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Our strengths lie in the following core services:
- Product & Concept Creation, for portfolio & individual asset developments
- Strategic Development Projects with a focus on new-market / new-concept business expansion planning, operator selection, market and financial feasibility studies
- Transformative Asset Management for brand re-positioning, asset re-evaluation and concept re-structuring.
- Hospitality Education for companies and academic institutions, with a focus on bespoke course development, training and teaching
- Workshops, Keynotes and Conference Moderating for boards, leading international conferences and incubators
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