Hotel branded residences transform luxury city living

Upmarket apartment homes managed by luxury hotel chains are gaining momentum as developers and buyers recognise their lifestyle and investment benefits.

Developers can add a premium to the price of their apartments, knowing buyers will pay for a home in a tower named after a well-known brand that also offers the amenities usually associated with an upscale hotel. These range from the name on the front door to full concierge offerings.

Branded residences are big business not only in the hotel sector but also among luxury car brands and even jewellery and fashion labels.

Melbourne property developer Beulah’s Four Seasons Hotel is in the western tower of its STH BNK development.Credit:

The concept has been slower to take off in Australia, but global hotel chain Four Seasons is bringing branded apartment towers here when it opens its STH BNK site as part of a $2.3 billion development partnership with luxury property developer Beulah.

The project is set to be a “massive mini-metropolis” that will span two separate high-rise structures. The skyscrapers will become Australia’s tallest towers and be home to the tallest vertical garden in the world, at 5.5 kilometres, nearly 1.5 times the length of the Tan running track in Melbourne.

Four Seasons Melbourne will have a 210-room hotel and there will be branded residences with world-class facilities in the precinct.

Other similar offerings, 1 Hotel Melbourne, Crown Residences at Barangaroo in Sydney and Marina Mirage apartments on the Queensland Gold Coast, are also set to open soon, merging apartment living with prestigious five-star hotel luxury.

AXSIA HTL managing director David Simpson said branded residences have become a “preferred choice for many consumers due to their distinctive advantages and personalised experiences that have been carefully crafted to tailor residents’ preferences”.

“These properties combine the best aspects of private ownership with the benefits of a luxury hotel, providing residents with access to world-class amenities such as concierge services, fine dining, wellness facilities, and bespoke interior design,” Simpson said.

“The association with a reputable brand ensures a high standard of quality and service that you’d expect from their hotels, enhancing the property’s value and appeal.”

AXSIA HTL also negotiated the deal at 1 Hotel Melbourne to deliver the city’s first hotel-branded penthouse with an asking reported to be around $18 million.

Sitting on the Yarra River’s so-called Northbank precinct, it is being developed by Riverlee as part of the $550 million Seafarers mixed-use project. The 1 Hotel brand is popular overseas with sites in Europe, North America and Cabo, Mexico.

1 Hotel for Australia -  Melbourne, Victoria

It will have 120 luxury apartments and a hotel with 280 guest rooms, a state-of-the-art wellness centre, and a 1000-seat function centre.

“This hotel positions itself as a sustainable luxury offering, set to include the city’s first hotel-branded penthouse later this year. It will provide residents with eco-friendly living spaces that don’t compromise style or comfort,” Simpson said.

Simpson said from an investment perspective, “branded residences are a no-brainer”.

“Branded residences tend to appreciate in value because they’re linked to prestigious brands. So, buying one is a smart choice – you get a luxurious lifestyle and a strong investment at the same time,” he said.

In the latest Knight Frank Wealth Report, released in March, the global branded residence sector was one of the stronger areas of growth, albeit for ultra-high-net-worth individuals—someone with a net worth of $US30 million ($A44.68 million) or more. High-net-worth individuals have assets worth $US1 million.

Erin van Tuil, partner and head of residential at Knight Frank Australia, said the success of Crown Residences at One Barangaroo, Australia’s first fully integrated hospitality-branded residences, made it clear that service provision is still an aspect of apartment living that Australian developers have yet to fully harness.

“I see a strong opportunity for forward-thinking developers and luxury hoteliers to expand into this sector to deliver more hospitality-branded residences,” van Tuil said.

Sydney is predicted to have the highest prime price growth out of all the Australian cities this year, rising by 5 per cent and coming in fifth globally, while Melbourne is predicted to have price growth of 3 per cent, coming in eighth place in the Knight Frank Wealth Report.

The Prime International Residential Index in Knight Frank’s report shows luxury residential property prices surprised on the upside in 2023, climbing 3.1 per cent on average across 100 locations around the world.

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