|
NEWS STORIES
FEATURES
VIDEOS
Editorial comment
15•07•19 Welcome to the latest Short Term Rentalz weekly newsletter!
• One of the key takeaways from this week was the news of Sonder's $225m investment and expansion plans in Chicago to take over space in two more downtown properties.
The fourth round of private equity funding, led by Valor Equity, Westcap and Tao Capital Partners, follows a $135m funding round last year and in that time, the firm has accelerated its growth by tripling the number of available units to rent on its platform to 8,500 spaces in 20 cities worldwide.
As the company also prepares to expand its Chicago product line with a further 92 units at 808 S. Michigan Ave. and 48 spaces at 330 S. Wells, Sonder is looking to shape the future of hospitality by offering furnished spaces that are rentable for between one night and two years and cater to travellers' preferences for hotel-like quality facilities and amenities.
While market competitors like Lyric make waves in the rental space, Cushman & Wakefield managing director Susan Tjarksen says that trend will continue as landlords realise the potential income benefits compared to what they can get from monthly renters alone.
News of the investment, which helped the firm achieve 'unicorn' billion-dollar brand status, will bring credibility to the business and its CEO, Francis Davidson, in efforts to establish Sonder as the dominant hospitality brand ahead of Airbnb-backed Lyric, Stay Alfred and Domio. It will also allow it to tweak its offering with additional services that are consistent within hotels, like smartphone-only check ins, to suit the evolving needs of modern travellers.
Earlier this year, Sonder announced it was opening its first Airbnb-hotel hybrid in Denver and taking over ownership of four Philadelphia properties that were being converted into apartments.
In other news, luggage storage facilities are an increasingly sought-over commodity in rentals and one firm, Stasher, has just announced its launch in 15+ US cities in signs of international expansion.
Speaking exclusively to ShortTermRentalz, CCO Anthony Collias and head of partnerships, Catherine Ainsley, spoke about growing demand for storage in rentals and bridging the gap with hotel-like services. Check out the full interview at the link here.
If you have a story you want us to tell the industry, please click here and get involved with the community by commenting on our news stories on our website.
Paul Stevens, reporter
paul@internationalhospitality.media
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
19 September 2019
Dubai, MEA
|
|
|
|
|
International Hospitality Media is the premier specialist in online publishing; conference, exhibition and events, and advisory services for niche growth sectors of the hospitality industry. The company publishes three industry-leading b2b websites - BoutiqueHotelNews.com and ServicedApartmentNews.com and ShortTermRentalz.com which keep their respective sectors up to speed with news, comment and opinion.
Our conference experience spans four continents and covers high growth segments including boutique, lifestyle and hybrid hotels, serviced apartments / aparthotels and extended stay, and vacation rental. Our events are renowned for their intense focus and attract quality industry leaders, brands and independents, providing unparalleled networking and learning opportunities. We also organise bespoke educational events and investor breakfasts to bring owners, operators and investors together.
'Providing an inspirational community to connect people through world class online platforms and events'
© 2019 International Hospitality Media. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
Confirmation of your subscription opts you in to receive future updates on the event listed above, in addition to relevant communications from our partners. You can opt out at any time.
|
|
##footer##