- Get your paperback, kindle, or PDF edition of Art of Coliving Book.
- Starting or operating coliving space? Level up and Join the Coliving Incubator Program.
- Are you building a coliving business? Get Free Coliving Advisor
🔁📝Missed last week’s insights? We explored OpenDoor’s coliving strategies and how coliving can support well-being. Check out the link below for more before today’s deep dive:
Coliving is not just a roof over your head, it's a renaissance of community, a tapestry of diverse lives interwoven to create richer, more fulfilling personal and professional experiences.
Breakdown of Outpost’s Marketing Strategy
Once you start a coliving space, one of the most important areas to keep the business going and growing is marketing.
Outpost recently shared updates on their marketing for the first quarter of 2024.
They saw a nearly 4X increase in lead generation year over year.
How were they able to achieve it?
- Paid ads on Google and social media (Instagram & Facebook) contributed
significantly to lead funnel growth. Check out some ads below:
- Expansion of listing on different marketplaces to increase reach to different audiences.
- Media and PR to keep building trust in the market.
- More automation in marketing and an increase in sales team members further added to overall marketing and sales success.
- Improvements in the submission form and the digital user experience. Marketing and product go hand in hand. If we have great marketing but the digital product experience is not great, then we will not be able to move the topline.
- Integration of influencer marketing, dynamic summer pricing, and reduction of response time are some other factors that have led to the marketing success of Outpost in Quarter 1 of 2024.
Most of us shy away from using paid channels and try to generate organic leads using existing communities, Facebook groups, SEO, etc., or try to same things again and again but expect different results.
While this works when you are small, as you grow and build a brand, the realities of the market change, and you will have to work with integrated marketing channels to consistently generate leads and maintain occupancy.
The moment you cross 12 rooms, the marketing for your coliving space needs to be reinvented and looked at from a long-term sustainability perspective.
What are you doing to market your coliving space this summer?
Transforming Dementia Care Through Coliving Models
Dementia villages, like the one featured in the Netherlands, represent a groundbreaking shift in care for individuals with severe dementia. These villages are designed to resemble a typical neighborhood, complete with shops, green spaces, and communal areas, yet every aspect is tailored to enhance the safety and quality of life for its residents. Unlike traditional institutional settings that can feel clinical and restrictive, dementia villages offer a more familiar, engaging environment. Credits: Vox Youtube
Key features include:
- Specialized Staff: Everyone from cashiers to barbers is trained in dementia care, ensuring that daily interactions are supportive and enriching.
- Thoughtful Design: The architecture and layout of these villages are specifically designed to reduce confusion and enhance navigational ease. Elements like brightly colored doors, consistent floor patterns, and natural-like lighting help maintain residents’ circadian rhythms and reduce evening disorientation.
- Promoting Autonomy: Small, household-like living arrangements replace the large-scale institutional model. Each resident has a private room and the freedom to engage in communal living spaces or retreat to personal areas. This scale helps mimic the feel of a real community.
- Encouraging Engagement: Public spaces are crafted to encourage movement and social interaction, with landmarks and destinations that promote a sense of normalcy and freedom.
Since its inception in 2009, the dementia village model has shown promising results, such as a significant decrease in the need for antipsychotic medications among residents. This model not only reduces symptoms but also enhances the overall well-being of individuals with dementia by providing a living environment that respects their needs and dignity.
This innovative approach to coliving, tailored for those with cognitive impairments, showcases how specialized environments can profoundly impact residents' quality of life. As we continue to explore and understand the benefits of such coliving models, they offer valuable insights into how we can better design communal living spaces for all, emphasizing that thoughtful design can cater to diverse needs effectively.
How Can Coliving Design Help Create More Humane Prisions?
Norway's Halden Prison exemplifies how the coliving philosophy of creating supportive, community-oriented environments can be applied to correctional facilities to make them more humane. Unlike traditional prisons, Halden features a campus-style layout that promotes rehabilitation and normalcy, rather than mere containment.
Key Elements of Coliving-Inspired Humane Prison Design:
- Campus Layout: Facilities are separated into different buildings within a surrounding perimeter, mimicking a small community or village. This design not only reduces the institutional feel but also encourages physical activity and interaction with nature.
- Natural Elements: Large windows provide inmates with views of the surrounding landscape, including carefully landscaped grounds with tall trees. These elements help inmates track the passage of time and connect with the outside world, reducing the psychological strains of incarceration.
- Material Use: Instead of the harsh materials typically used in prisons, Halden uses glass, wood, and cork, which enhance natural light and dampen noise, creating a calmer and more welcoming environment.
- Inmate and Staff Interaction: The design promotes frequent, face-to-face interactions between inmates and guards, fostering a community-like atmosphere where relationships can thrive. This has been shown to decrease violence and improve security. Credits: Vox Youtube
Coliving Spotlight: Rooral, Malaga, Benarraba, Spain
Rooral is a platform designed to connect remote workers with rural living experiences, promoting a closer connection to nature while accommodating professional needs. The concept behind Rooral emphasizes the benefits of working remotely from serene, natural settings, offering a rejuvenating alternative to the urban office environment. The founder of Rooral is Juan Barbed Isusi, who has integrated his experience and vision into creating a unique platform that merges professional life with rural tranquility. Currently, they have space in a rural village in Spain called Benerraba, Malaga. Check them out here.
Everything Else Coliving
- Study: Why living with strangers can make us happier?
- Check how Hub House is using innovative crowdfunding strategies to grow their coliving spaces
- According to several experts on the subject, coliving could be an alternative to addressing the housing crisis. Read more to find out how coliving is still an unexplored alternative.
- Check the architectural design for Kadans Co-housing in Belgium
- Mangrove Dongdaemun, once a conventional business hotel, has undergone a remarkable transformation into a vibrant co-living community accommodating over 300 people.
- Nonprofit City Campus unveils co-living project for SF neighborhoods
- Big brands like BMW, Aston Martin are now foraying into coliving and residential projects to enhance their brand presence through living experiences.
- Co-living operator Settl to reach 8,000 beds in FY25.
- Habyt launches iconic co-living experience in collaboration with Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority
- Expanding coliving footprint. Plans to build 221 co-living studio apartments in East Sussex.
- How Cohabs is bringing affordability to Manhattan.
- More people now want to build niche communities in Coliving. Read about why these tech workers want to build a coliving campus.
We hope you enjoyed this edition and wish you a great weekend ahead.
Gui Perdrix & Mayank Pokharna
The Artof.Co team
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