Last week, Toboggan Flats co-founder Robert Barnard headed to Amsterdam to join hundreds of coliving leaders from around the world at the Coliving Awards and Conference. Over two invaluable days, we learned about some challenges, but mostly opportunities facing coliving businesses operating in dozens of countries. Robert also spoke about the Canadian coliving market on the emerging markets panel. Here’s his report:
I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times, but I am always astonished at the sheer number of bicycles and how well the city operates with them. So I rented a bike from my hotel and headed out on part one of the conference—coliving site visits. Two really stuck out.
Top-notch coliving in Amsterdam
The Social Hub, launched in this city and now with locations in several cities across Europe, was based in a converted newspaper office. With five-hundred beds, it has a combination of student units, long-term stay and short-term stay living with a vibrancy that electrifies what was once a depressed neighbourhood.
The second standout was Hotel Jansen. With its tagline, “not for tourists,” it also offers multiple types of stays. Hotel Jansen is a new build designed for coliving. It’s right next to a decommissioned jail, and some of its features are reused elements of that relic.
I was struck by how much life these two coliving operations brought to what were slowing areas of the city.
Building the coliving community together
I rode to the Coliving Awards that night (more on the awards in a special newsletter next week) and continued to get to know the international coliving community. It is just that: a community. Sure, it has clear elements of a maturing industry—specialized architects, designers, technologies, investment funds, municipal regulations, TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). But I quickly sensed the openness to collaborate, the sharing of knowledge and the genuine enthusiasm for a new player like Toboggan Flats entering the fray.
They fundamentally believe coliving is great living.
What we learned from the conference
Advice from an investor who manages a fund that only invests in coliving: He said as we grow in Canada we need to connect coliving to “built to rent” (BTR) housing. That’s a term more familiar to investors and governments.
From several panels and conversations: Affordability is still a challenge. Coliving is less expensive than other BTR formats, but costs and interest rates still make true affordability a challenge. There was a lot of interest in our Toboggan Flats model in this respect. Coliving adaptations of offices could offer lower-cost coliving.
Office conversions and the Toboggan Flats model
Speaking of offices, I was delighted to learn how many office buildings had been converted to coliving spaces in Europe. Most are what I would call full conversions: conversions that provide plumbing in each private room. A few examples include Allihoop, TomoDomo and Colonies. They are done and operating. That bodes well for us.
In our model, we modify the floor’s original mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) system instead of demolishing it, and residents share kitchen and bathroom facilities. That means we can pass savings on construction costs on to our residents. It’s not just coliving; it’s affordable housing.
Where Canada meets the world
Another surprise for me was how similar Canada is to the rest of the developed world right now. Every country represented at the conference reported a deepening housing crisis and loneliness epidemic. This further motivates us to come up with solutions that could have an impact beyond Canada.
Finally, I am encouraged by the breadth of coliving alternatives out there. Flexliving is a new buzzword being bandied about. At its core is a belief that we need to be more dynamic in how we think about housing, homes and places to live. That will create more options, especially for young people. Short-, medium- and long-term stay models are all viable.
Coliving for digital nomads was a fun and well-represented segment at the conference. It certainly got me dreaming. As a teaser for our Coliving Awards report coming soon, have a look at Coliving and Surfing. Maybe an outpost for Toboggan Flats in Tofino some day?
