Amsterdam-based hybrid hospitality firm The Student Hotel (TSH) has secured €300 mln in funding from shareholders Aermont and APG, with APG providing €175 mln of its investment through its existing LRF venture managed by LaSalle.
This funding will fuel TSH's international expansion plans, allowing the company to launch the construction of seven new flagship hotels in key EU gateway cities. It will also facilitate the addition of nearly 3,000 rooms to the existing portfolio, and fund the roll-out of technology at its hotels, plus new investments.
According to TSH, the firm's unique hybrid hospitality model enabled it to navigate the pandemic and even open three new hotels over the past 18 months (Bologna, Delft and Vienna, the largest hotel in the city).
TSH anticipates 2022 will be another important year with potential revenue in excess of €100 mln, which is 25% over 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The group will open a further three hotels in 2022 allowing it to expand its presence in Europe, adding more than 1,000 rooms in Madrid, Barcelona and Toulouse.
CEO of TSH, Charlie MacGregor, said: 'We performed better than many traditional hospitality companies during the Covid pandemic. Our student, co-working and co-living customers have been very loyal and helped ensure that we were EBITDA positive at our hotels.
'Thanks to our hybrid operating model, we were able to quickly increase our room allocation towards students at a moment when leisure and corporate travel disappeared.
'Despite all the restrictions on travel, the lockdowns and education disruptions for students, we achieved strong occupancy over the past 18 months even in new markets where we had just opened. This has allowed us to come through the Covid crisis stronger.'
For the academic year 2020/2021, TSH achieved a 51% occupancy rate across all locations and room segments. As the world starts to re-open and restrictions ease, the group sees strong pick-up on demand.
As of September, long-stay bookings are already back to 2019 levels with occupancy close to 100% and waiting lists, while TSH moved over 20% of its hotel rooms to the student market since 2019. For the full year 2022, TSH expects to achieve a blended occupancy across its entire portfolio in excess of 80%.
Vincent Rouget, partner at Aermont, said: 'The unprecedented test brought by the pandemic proved the resilience and the lower volatile nature of The Student Hotel hybrid business model thanks to its diversified sources of revenues.
'With its unrivalled owned portfolio of prime properties across Europe and its unique community-based hospitality experience across generations, TSH emerges from the pandemic well capitalized and superbly positioned to consolidate its leadership position towards the millennial and Gen-Z audience.'
On the technology front, TSH is implementing new cutting-edge systems, allowing it to better address customer needs. This technology will bring the company closer to its guests, increasing satisfaction and overall retention.
TSH will implement the first space/time booking platform across its hotels. This effectively means that guests will be able to book any space in TSH buildings for a defined period of time – from meeting rooms to co-working desks, parking spaces and ping pong tables.
