Co-living operator Settl. set to add 2,000 beds

Mumbai: Co-living operator Settl. will add about 2,000 beds by June next year across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to cater to rising demand of managed accommodation by working professionals.

The company has chalked out an aggressive expansion plan as the co-living segment has started to recover from the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Abhishek Tripathi, Co- founder, Sett., said, "Co-living in India is not new. All the early entrants are focussing on student housing or early jobber housing and are selling beds to them."

The requirement of a modern-day urban consumer has evolved but the rental industry has not changed to cater to that need. Keeping the new requirement in mind, Settl. looks at this problem from a different lens and provides a three-layered offering to the urban working population moving to urban centres, he said.

We provide a three-layered service approach to our members. Besides providing thoughtfully designed fully furnished and fully managed living experienced, we also put a lot of emphasis on building a vibrant community experiences with the use of technology and the network of our members. Our facilities are also equipped to take care of the modern requirement of working professionals like enterprise graded wi-fi connectivity and a co-working setup which they can use even when they are not working from office, he added.

Started in 2020, the company currently has 2,000 beds across 40 properties in the three cities. As per the expansion plans, Settl. aims to touch 4,000 beds by June next year. It plans to add at least 1,000 beds in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone.

Each of its facilities provide a high-quality mix of co-living, community-living and coworking solutions to the working professionals. "We are currently present in three cities and we want to expand to three new cities including Delhi and Noida by June 2023," Tripathi said.

We sell beds in a price range of Rs 11,000 per month to Rs 18,000 per month, depending on city, location and available facilities. About 80-90 per cent of our occupants are working professionals between the age group of 25-35 years, he added.

In view of the pandemic, the demand for individual rooms has increased as working professionals want privacy and hygiene. It plans to raise further funds to expand and grow the business and has started a preliminary round of discussions with potential investors.