Services for Coliving Operators, Hybrid Coliving, Coliving in Qatar, Flex Living in Spain, and Everything Else Coliving
What are we doing at Everything Coliving?
It all began in 2015 with a single coliving building in Bangalore. As I honed my craft operating residential-sharing units, I realized something: the real challenge wasn’t the building; it was the entire ecosystem around it: resident experience, community culture, tech operations, lead-funnel marketing and much more.
I then moved on to build property management software for coliving and shared living operators. It taught me the role tech can play in enabling this sector.
Then I collaborated with Gui Perdrix to build Artof.co and launched a coliving incubator that provided advisory services and was attended by 25 companies over 18 months.
Over the last decade, we have helped more than 60 operators in 13 countries while working across Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. We also built proprietary systems, published global research and grew our network to 35,000+ industry professionals (via our newsletter alone).
50+ leading publications worldwide have covered our work and journey.
All of this has culminated in “Everything Coliving,” which has now evolved into a full-stack agency for coliving, shared living, PBSA, BTR, and residential rental operators within the real estate sector, providing:
Custom Software Development
System Integration
Website Development
CRM Implementation
Digital Marketing
and everything else tech- and marketing-related.
This comes with 11+ years of experience of being in this sector and seeing it evolve through various lenses. So, if you are looking for help in any of those, let’s have a no-strings-attached chat.
[Market Trends] Work + Home, Reimagined: Why hybrid coliving is more than a catchy trend.
Cities, work and home are no longer separate chapters; they’re becoming one continuous story. Recent coverage argues what many of us have felt: hybrid living (co-living + co-working) answers real pressures, rising rents, fractured commutes, and a workforce that wants flexibility. The payoff is real: desk-sharing patterns show huge swings in office demand (peak midweek, empty Fridays), meaning large chunks of office real estate sit idle, and that’s fertile ground for repurposing and densification. Thoughtful hybrid projects reclaim wasted space, reduce costs, and create environments where serendipity and productivity can coexist.
Design and operations are the make-or-break. The best hybrid homes treat work like a first-class tenant: private nooks for deep focus, ergonomic desks, reliable fiber, quiet acoustic zones, lots of daylight, and generous commons that spark informal exchange. Tech must wire the experience: booking for desks, hot-desk allocation that nudges useful encounters, smart maintenance flows, and clear telework policies so employers and residents know their rights and responsibilities. Done badly, you end up with noisy bedrooms, frustrated residents, and a churn problem masquerading as “community.”
Quick checklist: get these right before you call it hybrid:
Design: daylight, storage, acoustic separation, and adjustable workstations.
Ops tech: PMS + desk booking + maintenance ticketing tied to a resident app.
Programming: regular, low-effort rituals (monthly breakfasts, micro-workshops) that build routine over spectacle.
Legal clarity: written telework agreements, insurance, and ergonomics responsibilities.
Metrics: desk utilization, retention, NPS, and event participation; measure, iterate, repeat.
Hybrid living is a pragmatic response to how people actually live and work today, but success requires equal parts architecture, service design and tech. Get those three in sync, and you don’t just create housing; you create a living workplace that people want to stay in and recommend.
[Market Outlook: Qatar] Coliving and Micro-apartments: Affordable Alternatives in Qatar’s Urban Core
Qatar’s housing market is quietly shifting. As urban centers densify and more short-term professionals, students and mobile expatriates arrive, compact, community-focused housing is moving from niche to mainstream. Co-living (private rooms + generous shared spaces) and micro-apartments (highly efficient 200–400 sq ft units) are solving two problems at once: affordability and convenience, while fitting neatly into a fast-paced, service-oriented urban lifestyle.
Demand drivers: rising urban rents, short-term project assignments, and a growing digital-nomad / mobile professional cohort.
Product fit: co-living appeals to those who want community, amenities and flexible leases; micro-units suit single professionals seeking independence at lower cost.
Developer opportunity: higher density, lower per-unit construction cost and predictable revenue streams (short-to-medium stays).
Operational musts: robust tech (PMS + booking automation), clear contract terms, and strong community programming to reduce churn.
Risks: higher per-sqm rents can trigger affordability concerns; poor design or weak operations can turn community into commodified flat-sharing.
Why this is relevant for Qatar?
The local market’s rapid urbanisation and transient workforce make flexible housing particularly sensible. Co-living reduces move-in friction (furnished rooms, utilities bundled, weekly cleaning) while micro-apartments deliver private, self-contained options without the price premium of larger units. For employers, universities and project managers, these formats offer ready housing that reduces relocation overheads and improves talent attraction.
What operators and investors should watch?
Lease flexibility: Offer 1-to-12 month terms with transparent pricing; this is a core selling point.
Tech-first ops: Integrated booking, smart access, and maintenance workflows cut operating costs and scale faster.
Design for dignity: Even at small footprints, prioritize storage, daylight, and acoustic separation — these reduce turnover.
Community programming: Curated events, coworking amenities and wellness options convert residents into ambassadors (and reduce vacancy).
Regulatory clarity: Engage local authorities early to align on zoning, safety, and tenancy expectations for shared/serviced housing.
Audience snapshot
Young professionals on fixed-term contracts
International students and short-stay researchers
Digital nomads and remote workers seeking community + workspace
Employers and universities sourcing bulk housing solutions
Coliving and micro-apartments are not a fad in Qatar; they’re a pragmatic response to a market that values location, speed and convenience. Success requires mixing smart design, reliable tech, and people-first operations. For occupiers, it’s a cheaper, lower-friction way to live near work; for investors and developers, it’s a densification play with strong operational upside, provided you get the product and the service right.
[Opinion] Flex-Living in Spain: a real opportunity, but only if you do the homework
Flex-Living (the commercial umbrella that now includes coliving, multiliving, serviced flats and short→medium stays) has moved from experiment to product. Add the market data rolling out of Spain and Madrid; JLL expects flex-living beds in Spain to double from ~19,089 → 38,716 by 2028, with Madrid alone holding ~60% of today’s stock and 72% of beds under construction, and you see why money is flowing. But enthusiasm hides real operational, legal and social pitfalls.
Why are investors excited?
Scale + demand: JLL projects rapid growth; Madrid’s pipeline (≈11,375 operational beds and >14,000 in development) shows institutional confidence.
Attractive returns: Operators report higher GOP vs. hotels thanks to automation and lower variable costs.
Built-in customers: Target users: digital nomads, mobile professionals, and students; prize flexibility and convenience; Idealista observes that the product frequently targets tenants with medium-high purchasing power, who are willing to pay for simplicity.
Brand & product variety: Flex-Living packages many forms under one label (furnished apartments, coliving, cohousing, multiliving), allowing portfolio diversification.
Consolidation & institutional backing: Five brands control ~53% of supply (Be Casa 21%, Livensa 10%, Cotown 8%, Smart Rental 7%, and Node 7%); big investors (Greystar ~4,500 beds / 23%, CPPIB 1,850, and Patron Capital 1,500) are already committed.
What worries me (and should worry you)?
Regulatory ambiguity: The hotel vs residential vs commercial classification remains unsettled. A change in zoning/tax treatment can flip returns overnight.
Affordability optics: Flex-living often targets higher-paying, mobile cohorts; advantageous for yields, but politically sensitive in tight housing markets. Cities may push back.
Execution risk: The product is tech + people. If reservations, billing or maintenance aren’t integrated, margins and reputation vanish fast.
Concentration risk: Heavy pipeline concentration (Madrid) exposes investors to local policy shifts or market cooling.
User mismatch: Audiences typically have medium-high purchasing power; so Flex-Living is often not a solution for the affordability crisis at scale.
Practical checklist before you commit
Lock a tech ops stack before asset underwriting. Inventory, booking, maintenance and billing must be integrated; treat the stack as a capital item.
Stress-test returns under alternate legal scenarios. Model IRRs with residential tax treatment, commercial tax treatment, and potential service fee restrictions.
Pilot at a small scale in targeted markets. Run one asset under different operating rules and keep a reserve for policy friction.
Measure resident KPIs as financial metrics. Track retention, NPS, referrals and cost-to-serve. They move revenue just as much as occupancy.
Engage municipal stakeholders early. Regulatory clarity is essential for valuation and exit options, not just a desirable feature.
Design for mixed users. If you want scale, plan product variants (student, professional, senior) to diversify demand and political risk.
Flex-living is not a fad; it’s a growing product class with real unit-economics upside. But it rewards discipline: rigorous tech, legal stress tests, thoughtful resident metrics and proactive civic engagement. Those who treat Flex-Living as product + platform rather than a pure yield play will win the next cycle; the others will learn why cities suddenly start asking for rules.
Everything Else Coliving
General Coliving News
“A defeat for coliving”: in Paris, the former headquarters of Walt Disney France will be transformed into student accommodation. Following the relocation of the American company, this office building will have a new lease of life by 2029. At Paris City Hall, they are pleased to see student accommodation there and not coliving, which the municipality is waging war against.
With Houston apartment rents averaging $1,900 per month and mortgage rates remaining stubbornly high, an innovative housing solution is gaining momentum across the city: co-living. This shared housing model is helping residents save thousands while finding community in unexpected places.
Investors told to convert existing buildings as co-living demand rises
This could ease high fit-out and construction costs. Investors should repurpose existing assets such as small commercial buildings and shophouses into co-living spaces to meet growing demand and offset high entry barriers, analysts said.
Economic experts agree on the future of pensions: “There are people who will receive 800 euros and will have to ‘co-living’ with other grandparents.” The pension system reform will force many to plan their retirement to avoid financial problems in the coming decades.
Alternative living arrangements in Vienna: From co-living to tiny houses. Living space in cities is constantly changing. In Vienna, too, interest in alternative housing options that go beyond traditional rental or owner-occupied apartments is growing. The city offers a wide range of housing concepts that address new needs for community, sustainability, and flexibility
Co-living for working adults: solution or well-branded flat-share? Cities are changing faster than our housing models. We can argue that coliving for working adults isn’t mere marketing; it solves real modern frictions (cost, time, isolation) by wrapping flexibility, services and filtered communities into a single product. But the trade-offs are real: higher price per sqm, curated (not organic) community, and variable privacy. For mobile workers who value time, convenience and quick social onboarding, it’s a pragmatic choice. For others, it’s a stopgap, not a life plan.
Rent arrears: towards faster evictions? Landlords are horrified by unpaid rent. In a climate of economic uncertainty, tenants often struggle to pay their rent. Considering the lack of protection for landlords, a member of parliament has proposed a law to expedite eviction proceedings.
Beyond sui generis: why C1 could unlock co-living’s next phase. The spread of C1 schemes shows a structural shift in how co-living is delivered
New Coliving Projects & Funding
Cove acquires Casa Mia Coliving, boosting portfolio to over 8,000 rooms. Regional flexible living platform Cove Cove has announced its acquisition of Singapore-based co-living operator Casa Mia Coliving. Following the completion of the deal, Casa Mia Coliving Properties, comprising around 500 fully furnished rooms across the island, will operate under the Cove brand.
Stanza Living has secured $32 million (≈ ₹283 crore) in a fresh Series E funding round led by Accel, with participation from Motilal Oswal Alternates. Founded by Anindya Dutta and Sandeep Dalmia, Stanza Living continues to redefine how India’s youth live, with smart, fully managed residences for students and young professionals across major Indian cities.
LHN Group on Tuesday filed a prospectus for the listing of the developer’s Coliwoo arm on the Singapore Exchange, aiming to raise gross proceeds of S$101 million ($78 million) from the initial public offering of the local co-living business.
Flow Capital Announces Early Repayment of Investment in a Tech-Enabled Marketplace of Co-living Spaces. Flow Capital Corp. (TSXV: FW) (“Flow Capital” or the “Company”), a leading provider of flexible growth capital, including alternative debt and equity solutions, is pleased to announce the early repayment of a principal amount totaling US$3.0 million from a tech-enabled marketplace of co-living spaces.
Coliving startup The Hive Hotels eyes public listing by March 2026. Coliving student housing operator The Hive Hostels plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) within the next month, targeting a public listing in the last quarter of FY26.
Glasgow Hotels: Plans for ‘experience-led’ co-living aparthotel in Glasgow city center lodged. The plans for the current Mercure Hotel on Ingram Street would see the 91-room building turned into a Lyf-branded co-living aparthotel near George Square.
The regional government is building 42 co-housing homes in Zamora for young people to rent, with an investment of 5.5 million euros. Suárez-Quiñones visited the construction site of this development today, which is part of the Junta’s strategy to facilitate access for those under 36 and expand the supply of public rental housing throughout the Community.
Re:shape and Topland partner for SW London coliving scheme for the £260 million redevelopment of St. George’s House East in Wimbledon.
Serene Centre: Neighbourhood mall revamped into a vibrant co-living concept. Serene Centre marks TAP’s first venture into retail mall management. “This move is in line with our longer-term growth strategy as we continue to expand on our co-living concepts,” says Eugene Lim, founder and CEO of TAP, in a February 2024 press release.
Planning and Permissions in Coliving
Coliving and short-term rentals: a conundrum for Luxembourg municipalities. Coliving and short-term rentals are reshaping the Luxembourg rental market, posing new regulatory challenges for municipalities, according to the latest study by the Housing Observatory.
Flexible housing formats - flex-living, co-living and build-to-rent; are scaling faster than laws can adapt, creating contract, tax and zoning ambiguity that raises risks for operators, investors and residents. Without clear legal categories, standard contracts, and tax/planning guidance, these models struggle to attract institutional capital and leave tenants with uneven protections. Targeted, light-touch regulation (defined categories, standard templates, transparent fee rules and basic habitability safeguards) would unlock responsible scale while protecting users and encouraging investor confidence.
The municipality takes a “balanced and coherent development” of the neighborhood. “Subject to conditions”: Auderghem issues a favorable opinion for the Demey Park project. The project aims to increase housing diversity by providing more family housing, limiting coliving to 15%, and integrating public or subsidized housing to enhance social diversity.
The Galician government (Xunta) is strengthening its commitment to local entrepreneurship in 2026 by boosting the Network of Business Hubs. He also noted that the Network of Hubs has supported approximately 5,000 projects throughout Galicia which will continue to attract digital nomads to rural areas by promoting coliving spaces. He explained that one of the three coliving spaces involved in this project is Sende’s in Lobeira.
Kirkland planners direct staff to draft co‑living code with hybrid parking standard and no inclusionary requirement
We hope you enjoyed this edition and wish you a great weekend ahead. Reply us with your thoughts on what more you want to read and if you have any feedback.
Mayank & Everything Coliving Team
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