Estate agency’s short-lets launch goes head-to-head with Airbnb
JLL says its Short Stays initiative will offer travellers and business people access to properties within professionally-managed blocks.
Corporate estate agency giant JLL has launched a short-lets booking service in partnership with rental platform Lavanda as it seeks to compete directly with Airbnb and online travel agents.
The company says JLL Short Stays will offer short-let urban serviced accommodation within large institutional-owned apartment blocks which, the company claims, will provide more professionally-managed accommodation than privately-owned properties.
JLL now features three options on its website – ‘For Sale’, ‘To Rent’, and ‘Short Stays’.
At launch the service will have 1,000 units live on the platform within major cities around the UK but with plans to roll out the service globally next year.
The agency says it has launched the initiative to help the company and its corporate property clients to take advantage of the ‘soaring’ demand for short-let accommodation across the globe.
But the Lavanda platform is not new – as we reported two years ago when it attracted significant backing from several high-profile industry figures including Purplebricks founder Kenny Bruce and Rightmove founder Harry Hill.
Airbnb alternative
“JLL Short Stays offers guests a better value alternative to a hotel or serviced apartment, whilst at the same time providing exclusive access to premium urban accommodation professionally managed by the world’s most trusted blue-chip operators – including Greystar, Blackstone, and CA Ventures,” says JLL’s Sam Winnard.
“We have big ambitions for our Short Stays platform, and I’m hugely excited to develop it alongside our network of corporate travel bookers into a primary channel of corporate rental demand.”
Lavanda CEO Frederik Lerche-Lerchenborg (pictured) adds: “As demand for greater flexibility and digital-first customer experiences continues to sweep the industry and shape its future, so does Lavanda’s technology become increasingly critical to the effective management of institutional real estate.”
JLL is also not the first agency to use Lavanda. In 2018 Hunters also signed up to offer its landlords the opportunity to rent their properties via the platform, primarily as a way to earn revenue during void periods.
