A new report from Financial Times confirms last month's rumors that Airbnb will launch a new apartment complex in Florida in partnership with a real estate firm. The rental company plans to pitch the location as prime opportunity for seasonal tenants who will be able to rent their units out for up to 180 days a year.
Real estate developer Newgard Development Group will construct the 300-unit building located in Kissimmee, Florida and open it next year. Located just south of Orlando, the complex will be poised to lure tourists and workers away from hotels, which is the ultimate goal of the venture. Newgard plans to build five more such Airbnb-partnered apartment complexes amounting to 2,000 total units in the next two years, its chief executive told Financial Times.
The Kissimmee location will have keyless doors and long-term storage for tenants to more easily rent out their units while away. Hosts will use a proprietary app to organize renters and coordinate cleaning services, which are mandatory. There will also be a "master host" on-site to, presumably, supervise the location.
As for revenue, Newburg will take a 25 percent cut from each rental, Airbnb will take its usual 3 percent and the tenant will get the rest. It'll be interesting to see if Airbnb exports this model to other real estate partners in the future as it continues to try prying more business away from hotels.
