As blogged on Curbed.com, a pair of new developments in downtown Austin and Miami hopes to create a new hybrid hotel and condo model that allows owners to buy into a large property specifically designed for renting out on Airbnb.
Built and designed for homesharing, and branded Natiivo, these high-rises will feature fully furnished residential units with 24-hour concierges and high-end amenities such as co-working spaces, spa-inspired fitness centers, and rooftop pool decks.
They also allow owners to buy into Airbnb as an investment, since they’re licensed as hotels, giving owners the ability to rent out all year long and not worry about any municipal limitations on homesharing placed on traditional residences.
These types of projects—hotel and housing developments specifically built around promoting homesharing services—kickstarted with developments like Niido, a 324-unit project that opened in Kissimmee, Florida, last year. Adjacent to central Florida tourist draws such as Disney World, the reorientation of an existing development was meant to appeal to traveling families (it also caused some consternation when current residents weren’t informed of the change to an Airbnb-friendly operation).
Developer Harvey Hernandez, whose NGD Homesharing company is behind both Niido and Natiivo, says the Niido properties—there’s a second one in Nashville—have been “going great,” and the company has spent the last year upgrading technology and preparing to expand.