Community Living or co-living is redefining the meaning of ‘home’; it is a modern trend increasing in popularity among the younger generation. Co-living is a modern form of housing in which people of similar interests, intentions and/or values live together as a community. The concept of co-living is advantageous as it comes with amenities such as common kitchen, utility space, lounge areas and even common workspaces which the residents can use. The interesting aspect of co-living is that all amenities provided inclusive of housekeeping and repairs seem to match what a hotel or service apartment has to offer but at a price which is way less than what it costs to rent out a conventional house. Co-living is a cultural distinction in itself; most of the co-living spaces consist of people from a diversity of cultures and ethos. Thus, emerges fair chances of bonding and forging new friendships, making this interactive living even more attractive and sought after.
Between 2013-14 and 2017-18, the number of new colleges in India rose by 25% triggering a rush for student accommodation. With roughly 24 million students graduating every year in India alone, workforce here is likely to increase to 600 million by 2022, compared to 473 million in 2018. Cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, etc have become business centers of India, interstate migration rate has doubled to 4.5% during 2001 to 2011 compared to the previous decade.
It can be quite difficult for young professionals who have just started their careers to find homes, with the high deposit demands of landlords in metropolitan cities. The average rental deposit in Bengaluru stands as high as INR 1.34 lakh, which translates into standard monthly rent for eight months. Chennai follows with 7 months’ rent as a security deposit, whereas other major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, etc alleged 4 and 3 months’ rent as security deposit respectively. Such high security deposits result in the younger tenant preferring to rent out paying guest (PG) and co-living accommodation, as the latter demand a lesser security deposit such as 3 or 2 months’ rent. Young professionals and students can also now avoid the restrictions imposed by landlords and agents such as curfews, food restrictions, house guests, etc. which usually make house-hunting a nightmare.
The number of hospitality companies in this market are expanding, which provide clean and comfortable residence, clear policies and pricing, on demand services through an app and cohesive atmosphere with group activities, cheerful and casual spaces. “We want to focus on building a community and give people a place like home” said Viral Chhajer, Co-founder & CEO of StayAbode.
There has been a drastic increase in co-living spaces in metropolitan cities. Start-up Companies such as ZOLO Stays, Your Space, Stanza Living, etc are expanding with huge demand and occupancy at over 80%. From booking the room to paying for it, and add-on services are actioned in the app – which is helping people with easing the process of moving in. As a customer, all one has to do is come with his/her clothes and pay the rentals. Everything else is taken care off. Inspired by the size of the opportunity, the big players such as OYO are now entering the market with ‘OYO Life’.
Hospitality companies are now maintaining higher standards and ratings. It happens so very often that the reservation for accommodation is actually done prior to relocating without needing to physically inspect the property. This decision-making can often be a little clouded if preview of the property is solely based on images.
A customer might prefer having access to 360-degree walkthroughs as it would give them a detailed understanding of the property layout that they might want to lease. 360-degree walkthroughs of their inventory would be a great asset for hospitality companies, as the whole process from finding out about a co-living space to booking a room is completed online and often through an app. It would provide the customer an easy and fully immersive preview of the property thereby assisting them in their decision-making process.
360-degree walkthroughs showcase all facets of the property making it the perfect format for a potential tenant to remotely preview the same. Customer’s queries are intuitively answered while experiencing 360-degree walkthroughs as they are immersive and self-guided. Annotations with dimensions and additional information, this technology has the ability to create significant impact. Among the numerous benefits of 360-degree tours, one of the major benefits is that it is accessible from any remote location and from the comfort of one’s own couch.
A 360-degree walkthrough with good quality and sufficient information about the property can keep the customer engaged on the website/app and drawn further with interest, it can increase sales and trades.
With popular social media platforms such as Facebook promoting virtual tour and 360-degree walkthrough more than ever, this technology is here to stay. We look forward to professional networks being enabled to support such content formats as well.
Reference:
- https://www.99acres.com/articles/bangalore-homeowners-demand-highest-rent-deposits.html
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/students-and-young-professionals-are-escaping-peevish-landlords-and-taking-refuge-in-co-living-spaces/articleshow/68443388.cms?from=mdr
- http://360viralmedia.com/benefits-of-360-virtual-tours-in-real-estate/
- https://gritdaily.com/virtual-reality-is-impacting-real-businesses-today-see-how-theyre-doing-it/
Photo Credit: Featured Image taken by Helena Lopes on Unsplash