I think it’s a very novel concept. The question is whether a building with 249-units competes against itself. Austin has enough demand to support robust Airbnb and hotel occupancy. With the new Airbnb restrictions STR in Austin is becoming harder and harder on an individual level. So it’s more difficult for less-capitalized real estate investors to scoop up one property and Airbnb it. It’s more viable for people with two homes, who can still claim one as a primary residence and fall within the maximize STR thresholds without needing to meet investor-preferred metrics.
I love what Natiivo’s trying to do here. I think the Niido concept is interesting too, but will have lower margins and higher risk unless people are really only preferring to rent out their primary rental units more casually — like when they’re away on business or for a weekend etc. Niido is more just an Airbnb friendly apartment, sort of how Airbnb was intended as a use-case to begin with while...
The ownership component Natiivo provides enables you to basically “buy” a slice of a luxury hotel without owning a piece of a hospitality group. Sort of circumvents traditional fundraising markets for hotel brands looking to expand AND provides greater opportunity to investors. A plug and play approach. That’s where I think they have leverage.
But they’re more than just Natiivo (really a brand of NGD Homesharing, which is now consumer-facing as Hostiing). They have a software arm too called “Siight” that supports Homesharing investment/management tools, which could be big in and of itself.
There’s a twist I’d like to see Natiivo add that I think could take it to an entirely different level, and I’m not sure if it’s in their plans.
Staying mum on what *I think* would be advantageous for them to do though because I’m involved in something with a group in Chicago (and hopefully ATX eventually) that could have some legs. I think Natiivo can scale, but there are limited markets that can support such a concentrated supply of Airbnb packaged in this type of single-tower density.
Big affordability issue with Airbnb in the context of RE investors taking over markets though. Boston basically became an outpost for Homesharing “hotels” popping up in single residences all over the city, which priced out locals and young professionals from urban living and accessibility. Happening in plenty of places and that’s why this pushback between local and municipal governments and a billion dollar industry with a leading company at Unicorn status with lobbyists in its pocket will be an interesting seesaw. Where and when the dust settles will still leave some level of opportunity.
I think there’s a happy medium that’s more scalable, doesn’t overpower cities with STR but still allows it to breathe as an industry that even the community can benefit from. Part of that added twist I was talking about. Anyway, mark me down as a Natiivo fan, and I hope I can eventually “share” (no pun intended
) more details on my project if it ever truly materializes.
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