Managing student housing has long been left to specialists. But Accor and Meliá appear to be circling the segment, pursuing a mixed-use operational model pioneered by the Amsterdam brand The Social Hub.
Meliá CEO Gabriel Escarrer told Spanish outlet El Confidencial on July 13 that the company is in talks to manage student residences owned by Stoneshield, the investment fund that became Meliá’s second-largest shareholder in May with a 9.5% stake. Meliá declined to comment.
Accor said in May it would put its JO&JOE brand into at least five French student housing projects with Aken Écosystèmes, a developer.
The Social Hub, an upstart brand with 21 student hotels that also offer hotel stays and co-working, continues to expand, thanks to backing from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, and Dutch pension fund manager APG.
While the bets are small and differ, the direction points toward more hotel group interest in “hybrid hospitality,