Less than five months after announcing a partnership with real estate services provider JLL, U.K. proptech company Lavanda is entering the Middle East in collaboration with Aldar, a UAE real estate developer and manager.
The joint venture will bring short-term rental stays to Abu Dhabi via a platform called Cloud Living, which will operate under regulatory framework overseen by the Department of Culture and Tourism.
According to Lavanda CEO Frederik Lerche-Lerchenborg, the government oversight has the potential to serve as a blueprint for a new regulatory framework that allows for flexible short-term renting in a sustainable and equitable manner.
The framework was developed by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and key stakeholders from the private sector including Aldar and Lavanda.
With Cloud Living, which will be powered by Lavanda’s flexible-renting technology, guests can book professionally managed accommodations from within Aldar’s portfolio for stays of from one day to a year.
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The platform is designed to be a more trusted alternative to the likes of Airbnb while offering travelers a better value than hotels.
“Cloud Living is an industry-first case study in how real estate, tech and the public sector should be collaborating to design and deliver socially and economically impactful solutions that improve the experience of customers and challenge the status quo,” says Hamad Mohammed Saeed Alsudain, licensing and regulatory compliance department director at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.
“We are excited to have collaborated with Aldar and Lavanda to create the regulatory framework and infrastructure that provides the basis to understand the potential impact that this new format of more accessible, more flexible and more affordable accommodation can have within the region.”
In 2019, Lavanda raised $5 million to help bridge the gap between real estate and hospitality.
Says Lerche-Lerchenborg on Lavanda’s trajectory: “As demand for greater flexibility and digital-first customer experiences continues to sweep the industry and shape its future, so does Lavanda’s technology become increasingly critical to the effective management of institutional real estate. We’re very excited to build upon this launch and explore what the future has in store.”