Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

#1 Mastermind: Defining the role of a Community Manager

Introducing the first Co-Liv Community Manager Mastermind powered by Sowebuild

For the first time this year, a large group of 35 global coliving professionals came together to discuss all things coliving, working and modern community management. The goal of the Co-Liv Community Manager Mastermind Series, organized by Co-Liv in cooperation with Sowebuild, is to connect, interact, share and discuss coliving, working and community management:

“With the Mastermind Series we want to do what we love to do: building communities, creating (cultural) exchange and a safe place where everyone feels welcome. In this case, we’ve created a community of coliving experts, to help each other grow, transform, tackle issues and questions within the industry that so far haven’t been answered.” Rick Schols (Co-Founder Sowebuild, Co-Liv Ambassador NL)

The first Mastermind Series session focussed on the significance of the role of the community manager within the whole coliving construct. While there have been several approaches to define the role of a Community Manager, there still isn’t a satisfying explanation. The Mastermind participants discussed their experiences with the role itself, but also spoke about common misunderstandings and issues of what a Community Manager should be like in the eyes of community members, operators, real estate owners and facilitators. To break it down, we’ve focused on the following 3 topics:

The Mastermind Series wants to try shaping the industry and the different definitions of a Community Manager throughout the perspectives of Colivers and Coliving operators. The most important part here is to negotiate about meaning and definition rather than just put another label on it.

Coming together to give recognition to the Community Manager

“At the end of the day what I truly care about is human transformation and that can only happen if we have great cultures within coliving and that is why it all comes down to the role of the community manager.” Gui Perdrix (Director, Co-Liv / Art of Co)

One thing the panel quickly agreed on is that Community Managers (CMs) are usually overworking, underpaid and not appreciated enough. Why so? They hold a very important role, especially because they are often experienced as an intermediary between colivers and operators (building owners / managers) while technically being a part of their community as well. Speaking of overwork and underpayment: especially in the early stages of building a coliving community, the CMs / CFs often find several additional roles assigned to them due to a lack of budget and time, such as Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, problem solver, mediator etc. Sometimes these roles are voluntarily.

The Community manager can be seen as the glue that holds a community together:

“The role of the CM/CF is a link between the community and the business and linking the business to the wellbeing of residents” Gaetan de Dietrich (Head of Community & Sales Hmlet).

Problems and conflict arise once the Community Managers find themselves to be less and less sticky, because the ends just won’t meet.

“A problem is when the business model is not created to [financially] support the role of the community manager.” — Jon Hormaetxe (General Manager Sun and Co. Coliving).

The main conflict lies to say the least in the duality of the role of a Community Manager. To paint a better picture: both their ends are pulled, continuously, sometimes without a break. And while they inherit all these different roles, usually there is too little appreciation for their work, since they are rather made responsible for conflicts or issues within their communities from both sides instead of being acknowledged for all the energy they put in. This especially shows in situations such as the ongoing global pandemic: so called ‘soft skill jobs’ are the first to be cut out or short in order to save budget. And while for the job as a CM/CF at least a basic set of soft skills are required, the label just won’t fit well. The Community Manager is so much more than a replaceable function.

But how do we create room for more appreciation? Well, it’s important to make people aware of the significance, impact and benefits of a talented Community Manager / Facilitator.

Defining the role of the Community Manager

“Community is an emotional connection between people and the role of a community manager is to make that happen” — Gui Perdrix.

While this is a statement all participants of the Mastermind could quickly agree on, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation as well. So let’s dive a little deeper into the different aspects that are currently perceived in the CM role:

• connector of things and beings
• mediator and conflict solver
• also: facility managers, marketing and sales managers
• basically their community’s best cheerleader

Referring to the metaphor about the glue I used earlier, I think that is how the community managers often perceive themselves. They are seen as the center of a community, the connection between the operators and residents’ needs and wishes, while also being their communities most active ambassadors. As they’re the ones holding the ropes, they’re also often made responsible for any kind of conflict and are easily confronted with accusations or problems they shouldn’t be solving (both due to their own urge to take responsibility, but also due to the expectations of stakeholders and colivers). Basically they’re trying to hold up several balls without even flinching. No wonder a lot of community managers lose themselves during the process of community building or face hardships, such as negativity, exhaustion, overwork and underpayment.

But to what extent can a community and can people be truly “managed”? This question is answered by Art of Co and Conscious Coliving in their recently published Community Facilitation Handbook through approaching the definition of the community manager from the perspective of community facilitation:

Introducing the Community Facilitator — an approach for a clearer definition of the role of the Community Manager

“We believe that organic community and human relationships cannot be managed, but rather facilitated in their creation and maintenance. This is why the main focus will be on a crucial role: the one of the community facilitator (CF)” — Extract from The Community Facilitation Handbook.

The word management usually implies the idea of being in control of something or someone. We would lie to ourselves if we would think it to be true that a community, that people are — controllable. But what makes Naima Ritter, Matt Lesniak and Gui Perdrix’s approach so different from the management one?

“The main difference lies in the mindset of community building. Whilst historically, the hospitality industry has tried to create engagement and entertainment with a top-down mindset, meaning having absolute control over the experience that residents and guests go through, community building requires the involvement of its members. The more members are involved and engaged, the stronger the community will be.” The Community Facilitation Handbook.

Once a community manager is seen as a community facilitator, the appreciation and expectations for their work might change as well, as it makes it easier to approach them from a different angle: they involve, agitate, promote, empower and shape a common group identity within the community together with both the residents and operators, rather than obnoxiously try to force ideals and utopian wishes upon the community and/or the operators. Instead of being made responsible all the time, they might be seen for what they are: a very active part of their community that wants nothing more than to create great interactions and a feeling of belonging and home between the residents. Also there is hope that if people, but also the community manager, realize that human interactions as such are not manageable, there might be less pressure, a healthier sense of (social) responsibility might be created and the community could start to work together in a synergy that benefits both the operators and colivers.

Don’t lose yourself in the process

“Coliving’s edge, or “trick” to making its model sustainable, is to shift the onus of the experience from the operator alone, to both the operator and the members. Build with your members, not for your members” Gaëtan de Dietrich (Hmlet).

Let’s be honest: when we do something we love and truly stand for, we naturally have high expectations. While ambition is really important, it’s easy to lose yourself in the process. Coliving is no exception either, since the urge to belong is anchored so deep within ourselves, we often don’t notice when we place the needs of others above our own. In a community manager role, this means placing residents’ needs and / or operators’ wishes above what you might need in order to successfully execute your job. And that is where the trouble comes in. As a community manager it might feel like problem solving and conflict management is part of the job description. That might be true — to a certain extent. Going the extra mile every now and then in order to make everyone feel at home within coliving communities is important, but don’t forget the importance of your own role within the community you’re building as well. You also need enough head space, time and financial assets to not only be able to do your job right, but also to live up to your own expectations. What are your values and dreams and are they still in line with the purpose of the community? If not, why is that? Is it because naturally you achieved something even better or because you don’t feel as connected to your community anymore because you are busy fulfilling other members’ needs? Don’t forget that a community is a team effort. Set boundaries for yourself while remaining open to change and negotiation of the meaning, purpose and goals of your community.

One of the attendees mentioned: “Community is an ecosystem created and supported by like-minded people who share space and values and are engaged in common activities. An ideal manager has an open mind, empathy, stress-resistance, respect to house rules and creative approach to managing day-to-day issues.”

What a Community manager is not

While it is hard to find an accurate definition what a community manager should be like, let’s focus on the things we are not:

1. Customer Support

There is a fine line between the community managers and the operations managers tasks. Responsible for a lot of things, CMs are not there to fix the elevator or answer service desk questions 24/7. In fact, CMs might not have any operational duties depending on the structure of the coliving business. CMs are likely to focus on communal and experience processes only.

2. Emotional counsellors

“A community is a group of people who feel safe around each other because they believe in a system of wholesomeness. If one disagrees it means they would find a middle ground to agree. Critical to community management are conflict resolution, communication and open mindedness.’, one of the attendees states.

While the Community Manager usually holds a mediator role between operators and residents, this does not make them emotional counsellors. They can’t and won’t fix every personal drama or conflict that might occur within the community, but are happy to help if it is in their power (and work field related) but there are boundaries.

3. Sales & Marketing Managers

Generally, during the starting phase of a coliving project, there are budget restrictions. Community Managers often find themselves expected to fulfill several roles at once. Of course they can be asked to participate and provide valuable information about their communities, however, marketing campaigns, as well as the acquisition of new members should be lying in the responsibility of marketing and sales managers. This way the Community Manager can focus on what they are doing best: creating a sense of home and belonging within their community and fostering authentic connection.

“A clear demarcation between operations and community is very important. It is important these are two distinct roles, because although for a member it may seem like the same role, it requires different skill sets. Otherwise it can lead to confusion and members might not be sure what to expect from whom.” — Gaetan de Dietrich, Hmlet

The definition of the Community Manager is fluid and negotiable

The Mastermind Series discussed many different aspects of the expectations and ideals of a Community Manager. While there are many approaches and extensions, which makes it hard to break the role of Community Manager down, the statement below is what we could concluded together as a group of Community Managers, Community Facilitators, founders and more:

A Community Facilitator / Community Manager is “A person responsible for community building by facilitating group interactions and communications and bridging the gap between community needs and operational processes. Their ultimate goal is to support the emergence and maintenance of community by enabling residents to foster authentic connection, fulfill their individual needs and catalyse collective engagement.” — The Community Facilitator Handbook.

As a group, we’ll continue to negotiate and discuss the meaning, appreciation, challenges and fortunes of the role of Community Manager within our global coliving and coworking communities.

Want to join us in the process? Get in touch with Co-Liv and Sowebuild or follow our journey on social media.

Sowebuild / Buildr Apps — We build thriving communities

Sowebuild is a community proptech consultancy, management and SaaS provider. We support building places where people live, work and play by developing a clear roadmap for our clients with our suite of products and partners. Get in touch to collaborate with us or request a demo version of our Buildr Apps.

More info on community building? Download our ebook ‘6 tips for building a thriving community’ to get started with the essentials for your place.

Co-Liv — Global association of coliving professionals

Co-Liv is non-profit think and do-tank focussed on creating valuable content, events and initiatives that help foster the coliving industry. With 300+ worldwide members and 35+ ambassadors in five continents, Co-Liv helps its members through networking events, educational tools and resources to achieve faster business growth. Its social vision is also being translated into the yearly Co-Liv Summit, the major industry event, which will take place on may 5th & 6th 2021. Join Co-Liv today!

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Announcing: Vauban&Fort partners up with Co-Liv to transform the coliving industry

The Luxembourg coliving operator Vauban&Fort is joining Co-Liv in building out the Co-Liv Summit 2021. In this article, Jerome Ensch, cofounder and CFO, is going to share Vauban&Fort’s story, how it is changing the shared living scene and where it’s heading in collaboration with Co-Liv.

First things first: What is Vauban&Fort and how did you get into coliving?

I have been living in London and New York for over a decade and Vauban&Fort has developed out of the experiences of coliving in such cosmopolitan, urban centres. At the very heart of a successful flatshare is the concept of home and the people who live there are key contributors to the overall happiness of everyone involved. That is why our community is at the centre of what we do and we continuously nurture and develop the experience that our tenants have.

A curious story about our name:

We are called Vauban&Fort because Le Prestre de Vauban, who was the chief architect under the French king Louis XIV, was the mastermind that transformed Luxembourg into the foremost fortification in central Europe. Our name is a homage to his tangible genius and is based on the idea of ‘my home, my castle’.

The Luxembourg coliving scene is growing. Tell us more about the local industry, how you see it evolve in the near future and the role you will play in its growth.

Luxembourg has high real estate prices and a limited offer of housing units. Coliving by design offers the solutions to Luxembourg’s housing crisis. While the Grand Duchy remains an economic powerhouse and over 70% of its residents in the capital are expats, real estate prices have increased by about 8–10% per year for over a decade. This provides an interesting but also challenging environment to operate, as the base rent that property owners ask is high, too.

In a way we sit at this perfect junction between local owners and international expats and are a platform of trust to both alike.

We believe that coliving will continue to expand substantially in Luxembourg city and fully emerges out of its niche over the course of 2020–2022. The next 2 to 3 years will be key to take a much larger part of the market. As one of the pioneers of coliving in this region we see ourselves as being at the right place at the right time and are excited about the future.

What makes Vauban&Fort different from other coliving operators? And what would be some key learnings that you’d like to share?

To us, it is a priority to make the CO in COmmunity one of the driving forces behind our business. There are many competitors who claim to have discovered coliving for themselves but whose business concept does not focus on the community aspect. New members join our community through individual interviews, where we match tenants to a given property taking into account their background and interests. We continuously seek new ways in which tenants, our Fortmates, can interact and engage with each other (community votes on our shared Spotify playlists across all the flats for instance). Then again we also strongly focus on bonding activities (hikes, socials, board games etc). By placing the community centre stage we are aligned with our goal of creating exciting experiences by design, not by accident. In turn that also increases the rental yield as potential tenants are ready to pay more to have such an experience.

The way we acquire new clients has repeatedly changed over the last 5 years and the power of social media is not to be underestimated. We invest heavily in IT and the continuous development of our platform. Our clientele are very much in touch with the latest social media trends and we have strongly expanded our presence on social media and in particular also on Instagram. In turn we reduced our spending on Search Engine Optimization but on the other hand increased our advertising budget on all social media platforms.

You partnered up with Co-Liv to support the upcoming Co-Liv Summit. Which role do you want to play globally in making the coliving movement thrive?

Our most important goal is to become a large player for coliving in the greater region around Luxembourg.

Currently, the #1 thing that is holding back the coliving movement is the reluctance and uncertainty from real estate owners to enter the industry. This is why we also wanted to partner up with Co-Liv to create and promote the necessary content that will accelerate the shift in perspective of the real estate industry in the Grand Duchy.

At Vauban&Fort, we continuously grow the Luxembourg community of real estate owners who have already decided to enter the coliving market, taking care of their operations and educating the market of the financial advantages of coliving, while of course maintaining the coliving essence in our operations. We are a facilitator for real estate owners and work as a one-stop solution to safeguard their interests while taking full advantage of the CoLiving model.

Globally we are, like all other coliving operators, continuously raising the profile of coliving and the expectations and experiences associated with this way of living.

The future economy will be a shared economy and the living space will be a core part of that.

We’re thrilled to have you join our movement. As a last question: how can people help you and where should they reach you?

People can reach out to me through our website (www.vaubanfort.lu) or directly via my LinkedIn profile. I am open for all types of suggestions and new projects. Any help in accelerating our growth is particularly welcomed but so are also offers to partner up or investors who would like to develop real estate projects with a reliable coliving operator on board.

Thank you!

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Announcing: Cushman & Wakefield partners up with Co-Liv to transform the coliving industry

The global real estate company, one of the leading pioneers in the shared living movement, explains why partnering up with Co-Liv for the upcoming year 2021/22 and for the upcoming Co-Liv Summit is going to strengthen the overall position of the coliving industry. In this exclusive interview, Susan Tjarksen shares her perspective of the coliving industry, where Cushman & Wakefield is pushing the movement, and what fruits this collaboration will bring.

First things first: you’ve been one of the pioneering actors of the coliving scene. Where is the coliving industry at today and what is the role of Cushman & Wakefield in its growth?

Coliving asset class. Our team works closely with the top developers and
operators in the space placing both equity and debt. To date, we have placed $250,000,000 in capital in the US market. We also have active campaigns in IR and AUS. Along with industry contacts, Cushman & Wakefield has an amazing research department that gives us a 360-degree view of the industry.

We are going to see the rise of the coliving industry and you
definitely learned a lot over the last year while pushing the
coliving movement and interacting with its main actors. What are
some of the key predictions that you believe in and which you’d like to share with worldwide coliving professionals?

Some key predictions around coliving would be larger scale developments, with national/international programmatic expansion. We also think that ‘Blended Buildings” that have coliving, micro, Short Term Rental units and traditional apartments all in one building will more and more become the norm. I also see non-traditional development methods like ESG and modular construction playing a big role in future developments.

Tell us more about Cushman & Wakefield. What makes your approach different from the ones of your competitors and what is your main focus to date?

We pride ourselves on our data driven approach. We like to let the numbers tell this very positive and needed story. We see coliving as the most viable small ‘a’ affordable solution to reachable priced housing in urban environments. As mentioned before, our relationships with developers, operators and capital providers gives us an inside look at the industry.

You partnered up with Co-Liv to support the upcoming Co-Liv Summit and the organization as a whole. What is, for you, the role and importance of organizations such as Co-Liv?

An organization like Co-Liv is hugely important to the industry. Increasing
awareness and providing education to the wider real estate industry can only help further coliving development. Having an organization dedicated to the coliving mission also lends credence to the positive impact coliving has had and will continue to have on cities

We’re thrilled to have you join our movement. As a last question:

How can people help you and where should they reach you?

People can help out by learning more about the space, tour a building, read a Cushman & Wakefield Coliving report, and join a movement like Co-Liv. Coliving is here to stay. Anyone interested in discussing coliving more can reach me at susan.tjarksen@cushwake.com

Thank you!

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

An official partnership with JumboTiger

Within the Co-Liv Technology Community, Co-Liv are proud to announce an official partnership with JumboTiger, a property management software company based in India. The momentum behind the global coliving movement shows no sign of stopping, and companies like JumboTiger play a vital role to support coliving operators’ efficiencies and growth as they scale their operations.

There are countless moving pieces involved in residential property management, which include leasing, maintenance, cleaning, rent collections, tenant communications, and much more. In order to effectively manage all these processes, property management companies often partner with a variety of third party service providers focused on one of these tasks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, implementing and managing the various systems often creates additional problems and inefficiencies for the property management company.

It was this problem that led founders Mayank Pokharna and Subbu Athikunte, who had operated a coliving company in India for 6 years, to set up JumboTiger. They were frustrated by the lack of quality of the “one stop shop” solutions available to manage properties, and felt that they spent most of their time troubleshooting these technology solutions or trying to create ways for each of the platforms to communicate with one another.

The JumboTiger team built technology solutions for each part of a property management system. After some testing and iteration, the team were pleased with their results, for example, rent collection for their properties previously took 6 to 7 days, but after implementing the newly built payment system automating SMS and emails, the process took only 2 hours. Fast forward to today, and the JumboTiger platform is a full-stack PMS platform that replaces the functionality of Slack/WhatsApp, CRM, Freshdesk/Zendesk, Calendly, zInspector/HappyCo, and Wordpress.

JumboTiger launched their pilot product in February 2021, they currently have 70 users with more on their waiting list when the platform officially launches later this year. The PMS is available on a subscription basis for coliving and traditional apartment operators depending on the number of units managed. Roughly 65% of JumboTiger’s global users are coliving companies and JumboTiger continues to focus on this industry.

The system has been intentionally built to allow companies to scale easily; JumboTiger are confident about the future of their platform:

“Our real-time tools will disrupt an industry that hasn’t seen any significant change in the last 10 years. We bring the latest technologies to the property management software specifically built for coliving and student living operators.”

As global coliving companies continue to create quality living solutions, using the right technology to scale is crucial to industry success. JumboTiger understands property owners’ complex problems and builds thoughtful solutions to support the growing coliving industry.

If you’d like to get in touch with the company, feel free to reach out to Mayank Pokharna at mayank@jumbotiger.com.

An official partnership with JumboTiger was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Nabeel Ayaz — Head of Operations at Co-Liv

A strong contributor to the Co-Liv team, Nabeel handles and increases the operational workflow. He’s experienced coliving all his life, including when he travelled frequently around the Himalayas, and has a very positive outlook on the future of coliving. Nabeel is both ambitious and entrepreneurial.

How do you currently define yourself and what drives you?

I have over 15 years experience in account management, customer success, sales, user experience, onboarding, marketing/growth, executive assistance, creating enablement training material, SaaS models and KPIs. I’m a metrics-driven enthusiast with a dynamic skill set.

Professionally, I’d like to position as a rockstar business developer, coach for online businesses / “beginner VAs” / remote work task setups. I’ve been offering consulting to local VAs! I’d love to climb the ladder from employee to entrepreneur and share my professional knowledge.

I’ve worked with many startups that have grown into multi-million dollar companies, been there through thick and thin, and driven the organization financially with a positive employee turnover.

Personally, I’d love to become a responsible dad / brother / husband / son and open up a small welfare center as a legacy. Furthermore, I’m passionate about seeking wisdom and helping others. A quick fun fact is that I’ve done bungee jumping, and cliff diving is on my to-do list 😊

What makes you passionate about coliving and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I’m driven to assist the deserving people around me who are struggling in life. If I can become helpful to someone due to my skills/mindset, I find inner peace.

Specifically, what makes me passionate me about coliving, is exploring different cultures and becoming part of a community. I started investing myself in this journey to promote Co-Lov, Co-Share, Co-Celebrate, Co-Happiness, Co-Work, and above all Co-Care. Fighting against loneliness, for a change in life, and collaborating with intellectual mindsets produces positive energy & inspiration.

What’s your personal vision and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

I’m treating myself as the CEO of my role — not as an employee. I have the desire to start a coliving space in the future, I’m channeling it all into Co-Liv right now. When I do it, it will be because the spirit moves me.

My two cents about the future of coliving is that it will mainly evolve its demographics, due to economic contraction during COVID. It will be a more feasible option to survive and, the big cherry on top, it will empower entrepreneurs to bring their virtual force together under one roof with all the facilities of a coliving space (less management and more productivity).

COVID and social distancing have impacted the coliving scene but, until there are conditions like New Zealand with little cases, countries will get back on track to boost the economy in all sectors.

You recently joined Co-Liv as “Head of Operations” — what opportunities do you want to create for the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

I bring a strong contribution to multiple aspects of Co-Liv — I handle and increase operational efficiencies through process creation and workflows. I help members become more productive, efficient, fast, and actively delegate the non-creative tasks, which anyone can do, and have them focus only on creative stuff which ONLY they can DO! Furthermore, I create efficient coordination across the team members for faster and smoother results on all levels.

I’d love to brainstorm for the upcoming Co-Liv Summit to increase engagement and digitalize the experience, taking it to the next level.

How did you get into Coliving?

I’ve been coliving in a BIG joint family system ever since I was born. It’s something I’ve experienced on many levels in my life especially when I grew up in a city (Lahore) full of lights and noise. For my further studies, I had to travel to a different city where I encountered a new space: a hostel shared with multiple sweet friends under one umbrella sharing ideas, thoughts, real-life experiences and plans after studies — which kicked off our entrepreneurial journey. On a weekly / monthly basis, I visited my local community center and was surrounded by an incredible community of successful & inspiring individuals.

I also became more interested in the coliving scene when I started traveling more frequently in shareable spaces in the northern areas exploring a series of Himalayas which brought excellent exposure and collaboration both personally and professionally. Living in a remote area vs fully crowded city and getting to know people from the other side of the fence was an awesome experience.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out and what can you mostly help them with?

Email: imnabeel49@gmail.com

I’ve started to build something great with our director Gui Perdrix — I’m working with people who are great and doing great things. I can help organize every possible piece of a task into a finely tuned structure. I will ensure no task falls through the cracks, no balls are dropped, and every stone is in its place.

Happy to help in any way I can — Just hit me up!

Meet Nabeel Ayaz — Head of Operations at Co-Liv was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Penny Clark — Research Ambassador at Co-Liv

As Head of Research and Sustainability at Conscious Coliving, Penny works on impact-driven experiences and spatial design for coliving spaces. She specializes in social research and pro-environmental behaviourial change.

How do you currently define yourself, and what drives you?

I would define myself as a researcher, and advocate for the potential of coliving to help us live more connected and environmentally sustainable lives.

My background is in social research, specialising in pro-environmental behaviour change. I’m currently finishing off my thesis - exploring coliving, cohousing and environmental sustainability.

I’m also the Head of Research and Sustainability at Conscious Coliving. We’re an impact-driven experience and spatial design consultancy — we’re all about making coliving thrive and have a positive impact for all — residents, operators/developers, neighbourhoods, and the planet!

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I see coliving as one of the much-needed solutions to the changes and challenges we face. Our values and needs have shifted. We understand the health and well being benefits of strong social networks, and the economic and environmental efficiency of sharing resources.

Coliving can offer a viable ‘win-win’ solution, helping us to live more connected and fulfilling lives, whilst lightening our impact upon the planet.

What are your visions and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

I think coliving is at a pivotal moment, were the industry is growing quickly and defining itself. This is one of the reasons that I really value Co-Liv as an umbrella body, which can help to guide and shape this industry, and ensure that ‘coliving’ doesn’t become a meaningless catch-all term.

I can see a continuing rise in coliving reflecting the ‘blended lifestyles’ of today. The spatial and conceptual boundaries between work, leisure and home have blurred, and I can see many coliving operators catering for these different needs.

Also — what will happen as the first generations of colivers ‘grow up’? Are we going to see more coliving aimed at families and older generations? I hope so.

You joined Co-Liv as “Research Ambassador” — what opportunities do you want to create for the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

Always, for myself and my organisation, Conscious Coliving, we’re pushing for coliving to (continue to) be an impact-driven industry, which foregrounds social and environmental benefits.

As Research Ambassador for Co-Liv, I would like to investigate the impacts of coliving and what good practice looks like. I’d like to be part of a team who is helping to steer coliving in a positive direction, and I’d like to advocate for its potential as a housing solution.

How did you get into coliving?

My coliving journey started with staying at and carrying out research in several intentional communities and ecovillages. Since then, I’ve been deeply interested in how the social networks within shared living can facilitate pro-environmental behaviour change.

When I stumbled across the existence of coliving I was captivated! Communal living is very much a niche, but coliving is one of those rare iterations which is aspirational and has grown rapidly. What we want at Conscious Coliving is to help it grow in the right direction…

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out, and what can you mostly help them with?

I’ve always got time to talk about coliving, behaviour change and environmental sustainability… oh, and research methods 😉

Do you have a burning question about the coliving industry? I’d be interested to hear it. My email is penny@consciouscoliving.com

You can also check out Conscious Coliving. We offer consultancy on community experience and spatial design, social and environmental impact, as well as market/industry research.

Meet Penny Clark — Research Ambassador at Co-Liv was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Silvia Grattieri, Co-Liv Ambassador for Portugal

I truly believe that coliving is the answer and antidote for two big societal challenges we currently face: affordable housing and loneliness — goals stated by the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

The Co-founder and COO of B-Hive Living whose mission is to “support people’s health and well being through wellness-led design, technologies and activities”, Silvia’s approach to coliving enables the creation of empowering spaces for residents to lead healthy, connected and fulfilling lives.

How do you currently define yourself, and what drives you?

I’m the Co-founder and COO of B-Hive Living, a coliving developer and operator in the UK creating empowering coliving spaces for a new generation of renters to lead a healthier, connected and fulfilling lifestyle. We started B-Hive Living in Oxford in 2017, and are now expanding into Portugal. My passion and life purpose is to build a more connected and inclusive society through coliving.

Before founding B-Hive Living, I spent 15 years working in senior marketing management roles for blue-chip FMCG brands such as Wall’s, Liptons and Dove. My ambition was to drive change at scale, bring purpose and social impact to these brands through strategy and innovation, as we were reaching and shaping the lifestyle of millions of consumers everyday around the world.

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I truly believe that coliving is the answer and antidote for two big societal challenges we currently face: affordable housing and loneliness — goals stated by the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs).

At B-Hive Living, we believe that living well starts at home. After all, over 80% of our health outcomes in life are determined by the standard of our home, relationships within it and the surrounding environment.

This is, however, far from the harsh reality of the private rental sector. When we started in the UK in 2017, 1 in every 3 rented homes was deemed unfit for human habitation. That’s why we placed — “creating purpose-built homes that actively support people’s health and wellbeing through wellness-led design, technologies and activities” — at the heart of our mission.

Coliving homes should not simply be a place to rest your head, but an experience to elevate human conditions through community and wellbeing-led design and build. This was our mindset applied to the development of our Hives, and we endeavour to create an empowering space for residents to lead a healthier, more connected and fulfilling lifestyle through an integrated approach to coliving for wellbeing design, built and services.

What are your vision and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

I believe this pandemic will continue to trigger a host of new requirements from operators and tenants, and with that a greater emphasis on safety, wellbeing and convenience will become the norm. As remote working becomes widespread, I expect new coliving spaces will seek to provide larger private spaces with communal areas designed to cater for both living and working needs in equal measure and diverse levels of intimacy. Further investment and training in community facilitation will be needed, as mental health support and prevention becomes an essential skill in the coliving professional toolkit.

As the long spell of remote working continues, the perceived need for presence and proximity in the workplace is dissolving and will create a new wave of remote workers, freelancers and digital nomads shifting the demand and supply for coliving spaces towards the outskirts of major cities and in residential neighbourhoods. Nevertheless, I expect urban demand for coliving to remain high and grow.

With stress, anxiety and burnout on the rise, the homebuilding community will have a massive opportunity to shift their approach to sustainability. The industry will need to go beyond the focus on the 1% equation associated with the costs of energy, water and waste, and truly embrace the transformative potential of healthy buildings to support the health and wellbeing of current and future generations.

I recently published a blog following our January 2021 Portugal Coliv meet up which you can read here for our top 10 coliving predictions for the year ahead in Portugal.

You joined Co-Liv as “Ambassador for Portugal” — which opportunities do you want to create for the country you represent, the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

With Williams Johnson Mota — my husband and Co-founder of B-Hive Living — we are honored to be Portugal’s Co-Liv Ambassadors. Our mission is to drive and shape the coliving movement, given its undeniable impact on society. PRS and coliving are a new concept in Portugal, and rents were frozen for many years preventing PRS to flourish. Therefore, we’re doing a lot of groundwork to educate stakeholders in the industry so that they view coliving as a modern alternative to the traditional residential housing model or hospitality.

Coliving is a resilient and counter-cyclical investment strategy and aggregates more value than any other yield strategy today. We want investors to see the opportunity for this type of investment in Portugal. Coliving is fast becoming the rental asset of choice for renters and demand far outstrips supply in Portugal, so we expect big growth in coliving here. It’s key to point out that Portugal is probably the world’s favourite location for digital nomads or anyone looking to have an amazing lifestyle. Join us!!

How did you get into coliving?

B-Hive Living was born out of our aspirations to radically shift the experience of shared living renters around the world. Both myself and Williams lived in shared accommodation in different cities and countries from Italy to Brazil and the UK, and we often felt that the wellbeing and convenience of renters were an after-thought for developers and landlords.

In 2016, we set the vision for the Hives. At that time, rising rental prices in most major cities were at odds with the general quality of rental properties. Millennials also desired a social and flexible way of living. We were inspired by exceptional coliving spaces where purpose, design and technology come together to serve the wellbeing and convenience of a new generation who wish to live a connected, purposeful and fulfilling life.

After two years of market research we bought, refurbished and launched our first Hive prototype in Bicester, Oxfordshire (UK) at the end of 2017. At the time, Bicester was the fastest growing town in Europe and the epicenter of the motorsport industry with 85% of the world’s motorsport engineers living in the area. In other words, many highly educated expats were looking for a soft landing into a new life in the UK. They were the perfect audience to help us test our proposition while ensuring a consistent demand for new projects. Since then, we’ve acquired, developed and launched four new projects which have been crucial to help us learn and develop every aspect of our business model from land acquisition through development to interior design and service delivery. After such a steep learning curve, we’ve set our eyes and hearts on bringing our vision to a new scale, in terms of size and locations. We know we offer something special that generates great returns and have a tangible positive impact on peoples’ lives. We’re now curating the right partners to support our growth for schemes of 30 to 200 units in the UK and Europe.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out, and what can you mostly help them with?

Feel free to reach out at silvia@b-hiveliving.com or connect on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to share our experience at B-Hive Living and help organizations and investors build a solid portfolio from this high growth and highly defensive strategy. Investing in coliving means that you’ll have the security of an appreciating asset class with growing demand whilst also positively impacting many peoples’ lives.

Meet Silvia Grattieri, Co-Liv Ambassador for Portugal was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Bass Ackermann, Co-Liv Ambassador for Dubai

Passionate and excited to deliver an affordable and flexible housing solution, Bass believes that community, well being and a sense of freedom ought to be at the core of coliving.

Bass founded Hive Coliv to address the challenges he faced in his early career by developing an all-inclusive, serviced living solution with community, convenience and flexibility at its core.

How do you currently define yourself, and what drives you?

I’m the founder of Hive Coliv, the first built-to-rent real estate development and management company in the UAE exclusively focused on coliving communities. I’m passionate about and excited at the opportunity to deliver an affordable and flexible housing solution with community, well being and a sense of freedom at its core.

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I’m really excited to form a small part of the broader movement to reposition housing as a flexible, on-demand service to suit modern and transient lifestyles.

What are your visions and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

After the trials and tribulations of 2020, I’m more convinced than ever that people will increasingly recognize the true value of community and social interaction which is ultimately at the heart of what coliving stands for and should therefore put the industry in good stead. The increased importance of flexibility, both at home and work, should create further tailwinds for the industry.

You joined Co-Liv as “Ambassador for Dubai” — what opportunities do you want to create for the country you represent, the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

Coliving is still in its nascent stages in the UAE and as such, we’re working to bring about a greater awareness and understanding of the concept to the local market. Dispelling common misconceptions about the concept by developing and delivering an authentic coliving experience through Hive Coliv is ultimately what we’re delivering.

How did you get into coliving?

Completely unintentionally. Having graduated and landed a job in Dubai, I arrived in a new city only to find that I didn’t have the appetite, job security or financial means to enter into a traditional, long-term rental arrangement. I promptly found myself renting the servant’s quarters in a shared apartment with three strangers who became great friends of mine and the rest is history. Ten years later, after having worked extensively in the real estate development industry, I founded Hive Coliv to address the challenges I faced in my early career by developing an all-inclusive, serviced living solution with community, convenience and flexibility at its core.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out, and what can you help them with?

You’re welcome to contact me at bass@hivecoliv.com — happy to help with any queries related to funding and developing large-scale and purpose-built coliving schemes.

Meet Bass Ackermann, Co-Liv Ambassador for Dubai was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Izaq Kamau, Co-Liv Ambassador for Kenya

Izaq is an impact-driven individual who understands that coliving is the vehicle to connect people, promote community and make this way of living more affordable.

Izaq discovered coliving whilst helping his landlord acquire tenants for his apartment block; he realised that coliving was an affordable and social way to live for young people.

How do you currently define yourself, and what drives you?

I’m impact-driven and I like to understand social challenges surrounding people, and to develop lasting solutions that improve their lifestyle. I’m currently redefining modern living in Africa.

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

Coliving is a sense of sharing and growing together. With coliving, young people are able to remove barriers to network and connect while living in various places. Coliving also promotes community building and sharing of bills making it an affordable option for people looking to save money. In the digital era, I’m looking forward to seeing people in Africa and the world experience the community in a special way in the digital era.

What are your visions and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

Coliving will become bigger than it is today. People will be more open to share spaces and save expenditure. A combination of coliving and coworking will promote remote work globally.

You joined Co-Liv as Kenya Ambassador — which opportunities do you want to create for the country you represent, the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

My goal is to connect industry players and create an engagement platform that will educate people, influence and allow people to adopt coliving as a business model and lifestyle.

How did you get into coliving?

In 2017, I had just moved into a new apartment block in Nairobi. For about 4 months I was the only tenant in the apartment block of four units. I decided to help my landlord acquire more tenants by marketing the units. This was successful and eventually opened the door for me to start connecting landlords and tenants. In 2018, I turned this into a coliving model when I discovered young people couldn’t afford houses in Nairobi. Sharing an apartment has helped me cut down on monthly expenses, create new relationships and long lasting friendships.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out, and what can you mostly help them with?

Please feel free to reach out to me at my LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/izaq-kamau-81988487/

Always happy to chat about anything coliving and more.

Meet Izaq Kamau, Co-Liv Ambassador for Kenya was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read more blog posts about the coliving industry and its key actors on the Co-Liv blog! Check it out — happy reading.

Meet Walter Zueck, Co-Liv’s Ambassador for Switzerland

Walter’s extensive experiences and enthusiasm of working in the hospitality sector and of shared living provides his drive for coliving in Switzerland.

He truly believes that the power of listening and teamwork have profound results on people and their role in a community.

How do you currently define yourself, and what drives you?

At 7 years old, I stopped hikers passing at our farm and invited them to rest and enjoy some home-made food. Now, at the age of 55, I’m as excited to work in hospitality. My desire to achieve excellence in the hospitality field and to discover the world was turned on at a very young age whilst working with Werner who just got home to Südtirol after working as a Maïtre d’Hôtel on the Queen Elizabeth II. Later, I worked with famous chefs in French and Swiss fine dining restaurants.

At the start of my career, I learnt that in order to achieve excellence, it takes the best products and performances of each team member. After applying this to my work in Switzerland, the UK, Italy and the US in the 80s and 90s, I settled in Zurich where at 29, I became GM at an airport hotel with 257 rooms. After a very tough first year, I managed to build a one-of-a-kind dream team, with whom we developed and implemented a unique hospitality concept where all employees were given the opportunity to bring in something from their culture to make guests feel at home during their stay. This distinctive concept gave the hotel a clear profile and positioning.

What makes you passionate about coliving, and why are you actively promoting the coliving scene?

I want to create conditions for “listening communities”.

I strongly believe that in order to create a great community, it takes more than hanging up an event calendar. Although I’m convinced that functional and aesthetic design is key, I believe that welcoming a person and listening are more important to develop a true sense of community. If a host is an excellent listener who pays attention to each resident’s narrative, what influence would they have on how all personalities under that roof respect each other? What if the host’s ultimate goal was to become redundant. This may not sound logical, but fundamentally, building a community of listeners who feel a true sense of belonging is crucial.

What are your visions and thoughts on the future of coliving for the year to come?

My credo is know, want, work

I know there are life-enhancing alternatives to the current forms of coliving.

I want to connect to people and use the creativity of a network.

I work with my team to contribute to creating new forms.

The coliving scene will go through a similar evolution as the hospitality scene in the last decade when it comes to evolving operating models in the lifecycle of the asset class.

You joined Co-Liv as “Switzerland Ambassador” — which opportunities do you want to create for the country you represent, the organization, its members, and the coliving industry?

Good listening and practical learning are my obligations, which set the conditions to achieve managerial and personal maturity. Over the last 35 years, I acquired a general understanding of the economic, political, hospitality and real estate environments. The economic environment of today’s hotel business, a social evolution and a career development controlled by annual evaluations allowed me to become who I am.

For me everything starts with people.

In my-eyes, coliving is more an attitude than a space. True coliving communities are “listening communities”. Therefore, I want to listen carefully to problems, thoughts, and ideas. I’m convinced that most of the solutions to these problems already exist, it’s only a question of connecting the right people to each other and working as a team. I’ve worked in the four different language regions of Switzerland. Speaking French, Italian and German fluently, as well as knowing about the particularities of each region, will help me build a strong Swiss coliving team closely connected to our colleagues in other countries to share research findings, ideas and best practices.

How did you get into coliving?

My first coliving experience dates back to 1986, when I worked as Commis de rang at the Hotel Crowne Plaza in Zurich: 19 people from 11 nationalities shared 16 rooms and two kitchens. Our only commonality was that we were all working in hospitality. The kitchens were the place where, besides cooking and eating, “everything” happened, from concerts to cocktail mixing competitions, language and computer lessons, repairing electronic devices, lambrettas and vespas. We all worked and played hard, everyone had another talent which they brought to the table. My rent back then was 600 CHF, one-third of my salary, but our little shared economy (a term which was not commonly used in the 80s) allowed me to save money elsewhere and fill up the tank of my Moto Morini Kanguro to explore beautiful Switzerland by motorbike on my days off. I was living in this community for one year during which not one single person moved out.

Thank you for being part of this movement! How can people reach out, and what can you mostly help them with?

In my opinion, one phone call reduces four times the number of emails in our inboxes, so call me: +41 79 585 16 90

Otherwise, please reach out to me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/walter-zueck

Meet Walter Zueck, Co-Liv’s Ambassador for Switzerland was originally published in The Co-Liv Network on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.