It’s all in the name: the growing popularity of branded residences
Branded residences have seen a surge in popularity over the past 20 years and are now found in more than 60 countries globally. Todd Nisbet, Executive Vice President Strategy & Development at Crown Resorts, who are developing One Barangaroo in Sydney, gives his thoughts on the relevance of branded residences during the pandemic and how they may change
2 minutes to read
What makes a branded residence stand out?
Crown Resorts is primarily a tourism and hospitality provider with residential being a recent addition to our core business. Covid-19 has highlighted some of the benefits of a branded residence. You have a hospitality operator who is looking through a different lens and ensuring that the entire property is cleaned and taken care off with rigorous policies and procedures. We have a duty of care to not only owners but to our guests also, so issues are managed in a proactive way. Our residential owners have mentioned that they are comforted by the way Crown takes care of its properties and that their interests are aligned, and they don’t have to only rely on a corporate body.
Another element is that with many owners being global citizens, these residences already ensure you can service and support that proposition. With staff and hotel amenities on hand 24 hours a day you can get documents printed, get help with IT issues or use a meeting or conference room at any hour to suit any time zone of working.
In light of the pandemic, what changes are you thinking about for future developments?
We are absolutely considering the implementation of more touchless technology. There were already some early adopters but what has shifted is the mentality of the users. The technology for this has been available yet not widely adopted by the customer. The adoption of wireless technology, videoconferencing apps and contactless ordering and check-in have all been accelerated and deployed around 3-5 years earlier than may have been the case without the pandemic.
Flexibility in residential design will be key, to make sure it works for those still finding the right work-life balance. The experience of Covid-19 has highlighted that individuals no longer need to spend all week behind a desk to fulfil their work commitments. An important element of this new way of working is the merging of work and personal life and the ability to interact and conduct business is more blended – the boundaries between the two are beginning to cross.
This will be incorporated into residential design more. What the pandemic has taught us is that there is more consideration for acoustics and privacy requirements for videoconferencing. Open plan living in most modern homes created some challenges for this new way of working. Work areas don’t always need to be in their own separate room or require an abundance of space, however they need to be well proportioned with acoustic consideration. Fortunately for our project the residences were designed with enough scale and planning flexibility that we have not had to make any changes.
Find out more in the Global Development Report.