Co-living startup Settl to add 1,000 beds in Hyderabad

Co-living operator Settl on Monday said it will add 1,000 beds in Hyderabad to expand business amid rise in demand for managed rented homes from working professionals.

Started in 2020, the company currently has 1,500 beds. of which 900 are in Bengaluru and 300 each in Hyderabad and Gurugram. “With return to office picking up, the demand for managed rented accommodation has significantly increased. All our centres in Hyderabad is doing very well. We will be adding 1000 more beds by end of FY’2023,” Settl Co-Founder Abhishek Tripathi said in a statement.

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At present, the company has five co-living centres in Hyderabad comprising 300 beds. The centres are located around tech hubs at Madhapur, Gachibowli and Jubilee Hills. It charges Rs 9,000-12,000 per bed per month. Settl is expanding the number of beds in these three cities with strong recovery in the co-living segment from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are witnessing a surge in demand for managed rented homes from working professionals. Most of these employees are working on a hybrid model and they need quality space for living and work purposes,” Tripathi said. Settl takes properties from builders and asset owners on long-term lease and then sub-leases the space to working professionals. Each of its facilities provide a high-quality mix of co-living, community living and co-working solutions. About 90 per cent of the occupants are working professionals in the age group of 25 to 35 years.

In view of the pandemic, the demand for individual rooms has increased as working professionals want privacy and hygiene. Settl plans to raise further funds to grow the business and has started preliminary rounds of discussion with potential investors. The company has so far raised USD 5,00,000 from investors including ah! Ventures and We Founder Circle. Real estate consultant Colliers India, in its report ‘Future of Co-living in India’, said the number of beds in the co-living segment would reach 4.5 lakh by 2024 compared to 2.1 lakh by 2021-end.