As a large serviced residence provider in Australia with brands such as Quest, Citadines and Oakwood, Ascott is set to grow its co-living brand, lyf, in Australia.
Following the opening of lyf Collingwood Melbourne in 2022 and with lyf Bondi Junction Sydney due to open next year, the company has further expansion plans expected across Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Perth.
Lyf, or ‘live your freedom’, is an accommodation concept specially designed by Ascott for the next generation of guests. The business celebrated Lyf at an event held at Lyf Collingwood Melbourne on Tuesday, 28 March 2023.
The apartments, social spaces, and experiential programmes at Ascott’s properties are designed for guests to forge connections and nurture a strong sense of community. Ascott’s Managing Director describes how the lyf brand answers to the accommodation need in Australia
“The growing demand for novel living solutions that address the challenges of housing affordability and fixed leasing tenures, is evident. Capitalising on this demand, our co-living brand, lyf, plays to the call for a sharing economy within the Australia market. Addressing the rise of global mobility where we see an increasing trend of digital nomads and self-starters preferring to work remotely, lyf also offers guests the opportunity to live their independent style of travel while immersing in the local culture through social connections, and experiential programmes. When guests check in to a lyf property, they check in to a community.
“Following the opening of lyf Collingwood Melbourne in May last year, we saw an amazing ramp up in occupancy within months of opening. With the traction that we have seen at our first lyf property in Australia, we are optimistic about the potential for the growth of lyf here and look forward to our second opening next year – lyf Bondi Junction Sydney. Further expansion plans are expected across Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth.”
David Mansfield, Managing Director (MD), Ascott Australia
Since the opening of the first Lyf property in Singapore in 2019, Lyf has expanded to 22 properties in 18 cities globally.
Eight Lyf properties are now operational in key cities including Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok in Thailand, Fukuoka in Japan, Hangzhou and Shanghai in China, and Singapore.
Ascott expects another 13 Lyf properties to open in the next few years, including seven this year in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Xi’an in China, Tokyo in Japan, Bangkok in Thailand, Cebu and Manila in The Philippines, and Vienna in Austria. The brand will also debut in Paris, France in 2024.
“lyf is a unique lodging product that combines the best of serviced residences, hotels and co-living apartments. The diversity, flexibility and cost efficiency of the lyf brand, alongside rising consumer interest have provided a compelling option for owners and investors looking at the co-living sector. Our first lyf property in Singapore achieved an 80% occupancy rate within three months of opening in 2019. This in itself is testament to the strong foothold the lyf brand has, amongst the next-generation guests.
“We have seen great momentum and believe we are well-positioned to continue expanding the lyf portfolio via our twin engines of growth. In particular, our investment management engine that is anchored by the listed CapitaLand Ascott Trust (CLAS) and private lodging funds, as well as the lodging management engine through which it powers our portfolio growth by added management contracts. Harnessing the strength of the lyf brand, our product design and local expertise, Ascott remains optimistic with our ambition to grow the lyf portfolio to a strength of 150 properties by 2030.”
Ms Tan Bee Leng, Managing Director (MD) for Brand and Marketing, The Ascott Limited
