Hmlet to Launch Its Largest Hong Kong Co-living Location Next Month

Co-living specialist Hmlet is set to open its biggest location yet in Hong Kong next month, as the Singapore-based company continues to expand its presence in Asia Pacific.

The new location, which contains 57 rooms, is Hmlet’s fourth largest in Asia Pacific, according to an announcement by the Singapore-based company.

The addition of the new property brings the start-up’s presence in the city to 250 rooms, which include serviced apartments dotted across Hong Kong as well as rooms within dedicated centres operated entirely by Hmlet.

“We’ve seen our philosophy and operational model resonate with the Hong Kong market since our launch,” said Hmlet’s CEO, Yoan Kamalski, who co-founded the company three years ago.

Expats Driving Demand

Located in Mong Kok, an area in Kowloon known for shopping and massage parlours, the room rates at the co-living provider’s newest venue, dubbed Hmlet Zion Apartments, start at HK$11,000 per month.

Residents of the fully furnished rooms have the use of a communal rooftop with a barbecue space on the twenty-seventh floor, while residents who are averse to sharing a bathroom or kitchen can pay a higher rate of HK$19,700 per month for an apartment with its own sanitary facilities and kitchen.

Kamalski said that expats and “internationally minded locals” are driving demand, with occupancy rate at Hmlet’s rooms in the city standing at 95 percent. In its newest location Hmlet may test that leasing ability as its Mong Kok site is within what has been a hub of protest activity over the past four months and was also the scene of arrests for “rioting” in 2016.

The CEO intends to ramp up Hmlet’s reach in Hong Kong to 400 rooms by the end of this year, with a target of operating more than 1,000 rooms in the city by the close of 2020.

Ramping Up Expansion Across the Region

The announcement comes just three days after Hmlet announced it had opened for business in Japan through a joint venture with developer Mitsubishi Estate Company.

With the JV’s first shared facility set to open in Tokyo in the middle of this month, Hmlet aims to open 10,000 rooms in Japan over the next three years, funded by a combined investment of $25 million.

Hmlet has ramped up its presence across the region over the past two months after a pair of funding rounds this year raised a combined $80 million.

Just a month ago, the company increased its footprint in Australia to 300 rooms through a deal with Australian real estate firm Revelop, which will add an additional four properties in Sydney and Parramatta.

Hmlet secured $40 million in series C funding in July, which followed an earlier round of funding in April that raised HK$310 million from investors led by Burda Principal, which has also invested in Southeast Asia e-commerce startups Zilingo and Carsome.