Co-living isn’t your typical real estate play. It’s a hospitality-driven accommodation model and that changes everything.
Across Australia and other urban centres, co-living is gaining momentum. But many developers and investors still approach it through a traditional lens: build the asset, lease the rooms, collect the rent.
That mindset misses the mark entirely.
Co-living is not about squeezing yield from square metres. It’s about how people feel when they walk in the door. It’s about culture, comfort, and service. The real asset isn’t the building—it’s the experience inside it.
Co-living Is Hospitality With Longer Stays
Unlike BTR (build-to-rent) or conventional rentals, co-living is experience-driven. The lease is just the beginning. What keeps people renewing, referring, and raving isn’t just location or layout, it’s how the place makes them feel.
In that sense, co-living operates more like a boutique hotel than a block of flats.
Let’s look at what hotel guests expect:
- Clean, well-maintained spaces
- Responsive, friendly service
- Seamless booking and communication
- A sense of comfort, care, and belonging
Now imagine staying 6 or 12 months instead of 3 nights. The expectations don’t disappear, they deepen.
What That Means for Operators
If your operations run like a property management office, you’re not in the co-living business, you’re in the leasing business. And they’re not the same.
Ask yourself:
- Are your community managers trained like GMs, not just tenancy managers?
- Does the lived experience match your brand promise?
- Are your NOI levers limited to rent collection, or do they include upsells, referrals, renewals, and programming?
- Do your systems respond in hours, not days?
You’re not just leasing rooms. You’re hosting lives.
The Operational Model Is More Demanding But More Rewarding
Hospitality-led co-living requires more than maintenance schedules and rent rolls. You need:
- 24/7 responsiveness
- Digital-first communication tools
- Lifestyle programming
- Curated communal spaces
- Dynamic pricing models
- Seamless onboarding and move-out experiences
Yes, the operational complexity is higher. But so is the yield if done right.
Stop Underwriting Co-living Like a Traditional Resi Asset
If you’re analysing a co-living asset like a typical multifamily building, you’re likely:
- Undervaluing the upside potential of resident retention and referrals
- Underestimating the difficulty of delivering consistent service at scale
This is not a hands-off real estate play. It’s a hands-on accommodation business with strong hospitality DNA.
The Future of Urban Living is Experience-Led
The next generation of renters isn’t looking for just a place to sleep. They want spaces that are social, safe, connected, and flexible.
The winners in co-living will be the ones who:
- Think like hoteliers
- Build like placemakers
- Operate like world-class hosts
They’ll be the operators who understand that buildings are just the beginning—and that the true value lies in what happens inside them.
Final Thought
If you’re building or operating a co-living project, I’d love to hear how you’re embedding hospitality into your model or where you’ve faced the biggest operational challenges.
Let’s stop calling co-living a property business.
It’s hospitality with beds.
And those who understand that?
They’re already ahead of the curve.
