Airbnb’s Sweet Deals With Florida Developers

Airbnb has partnered with Sentral Wynwood in Miami, allowing apartment tenants to rent out their units for up to 75 days. When tenants choose to list their apartments, Airbnb will handle pricing, security, access for guests, and cleaning.

A 680-square foot deluxe loft apartment, furnished and ready to move in, starts at around $3,059 in rent. If tenants rent out their units for six nights a month, they could potentially earn about $636 for those nights, although actual earnings would vary. Sentral Wynwood offers fully furnished apartments for flexible rental durations, including nightly, quarterly, and annually, The Next Miami reported. 

In February this year, Airbnb signed a deal with National developer PMG, Miami-based Lion Development Group, and Marc Roberts Companies for a 44-story tower that will offer 659 luxury residences in Miami’s District 11 as the first managed luxury condo tower to grant owners the option to host 365 days per year on Airbnb. Every unit will be designed for Airbnb hosting, granting owners independence and assurance over security, Hotel Online reported.

Earlier this month, Skift spoke to Edgardo Defortuna, CEO of Fortune International Group, another Florida-based developer, which is currently developing two STR projects in Miami. They would deliver 794 units with prices starting at $400,000 and $859,000 to be sold to individual homeowners who have the option to rent them out, and should they choose to do so, there is already a property management company that would handle the rest. 

Meanwhile, affordable housing still remains a challenge in the state with apartment complexes being built on agricultural reserves and university campuses in Florida as “essential housing” to accommodate workers and staff. 

The South Florida Business Journal reported that religious and nonprofit organizations are selling land in South Florida to developers to raise money. Since there are few vacant parcels left in South Florida, developers sometimes have to turn to land owned by institutions to find property to build on.

But as more inventory gets added to the market, occupancy dips. The Commercial Observer noted that the thriving apartment market has led to increased construction activity, resulting in a decrease in overall occupancy rates across South Florida from 97.1% to 95.1% in the span of a year. This trend is expected to persist, with projections indicating the delivery of 19,056 units in 2023 and 24,926 units in 2024. 

The demand for South Florida apartments is driven by a strong job market and the ongoing issue of unaffordable housing. Despite rising mortgage rates, South Florida’s home prices continue to rise. And as a result, homeownership is challenged. A separate report by CBRE indicated a sharp decline in multifamily investment volume, with deals amounting to $27.5 billion in the second quarter, significantly lower than the $95.6 billion recorded in the same period of the previous year.

South Florida may not be emblematic of the industry nationwide, but a market as big as it surely carries lessons for developers, homeowners and landlords alike. 

Inspirato Parts Ways with Ex-CFO Web Neighbor

Denver-based Inspirato, the luxury hospitality subscription company, announced that it came to terms with its former chief financial officer, Web Neighbor. 

In a financial filing that appeared to come after market close on Friday afternoon, Inspirato said that Neighbor would receive $1.35 million in severance and bonus payments, and accelerated vesting of Class V common stock and restricted stock units. 

“In consideration for such benefits, Mr. Neighbor agreed to a general release of claims in favor of the Company, not to make disparaging statements about the Company and to customary confidentiality and cooperation covenants,” Inspirato stated. 

Neighbor became Inspirato’s chief financial officer on June 30, 2021, about eight months before it went public in a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, merger. 

But on March 15, 2023, Inspirato announced that Neighbor would transition to chief strategy officer, and would continue to serve as CFO until the board found a replacement. On March 21, 2023, Inspirato appointed Robert Kaiden, a former chief accounting officer at Twitter, as its new chief financial officer. Neighbor left the company on July 15.

In February, shareholders filed a class action lawsuit in Colorado against Inspirato following news that Inspirato had to restate earnings. 

“Due to errors in our consolidated financial statements related to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we restated our previously issued condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, which resulted in unanticipated costs and may have adversely affected investor confidence, our stock price, our ability to raise capital in the future and our reputation, and may result in regulatory actions,” Inspirato stated in its annual financial filing for 2022.

On Friday, Inspirato did not indicate what Neighbor’s claims had been against the company.

The settlement terms include the following compensation. Neighbor will receive:

• $900,000 in severance payments, which would equal two years worth of his base salary;
• $450,000, which amounts to 200% of his 2023 annual target bonus;
• the accelerated vesting of 1,014,615 shares of Inspirato’s Class V common stock that weren’t vested when he was terminated, and
• speeded up vesting of 252,736 shares of Inspirato’s Class A common stock that were unvested restricted stock units when he was terminated. D.S.

 

Airbnb’s Deal with Malaysia

Shortly after the Malaysian island of Penang banned all unlicensed Airbnb and Booking.com homestays throughout the island last week, Airbnb and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp. on Tuesday agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the aim to identify and market more than over 600 Airbnb listings that would be suitable for digital nomads, The Edge Malaysia reported. 

The goal is to promote these listings in popular tourism spots, including Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Penang and Langkawi.

Elsewhere on Skift

Travelers United’s decision to initiate a lawsuit against Hyatt regarding its practices involving additional fees aligns with a larger narrative concerning the heightened attention on such fees within the travel industry. This increased scrutiny has been particularly notable following President Joe Biden’s mention of travel fees in his 2023 State of the Union address.

The legal action was taken by Travelers United in Washington, D.C., a jurisdiction that mandates clear and upfront pricing practices. According to the lawsuit, Hyatt began providing accurate pricing information to potential hotel room bookers around August 2023. In Skift’s recent tests on Hyatt.com, the website now prominently displays both room rates and resort fees when travelers conduct their initial search. It seems that Hyatt has adjusted its website within the past month or so to offer more transparent information regarding resort fees.

Hyatt Hit With Class Action Suit Over Hotel ‘Junk Fees’ Despite Changing Policy