lyf: Co-living pioneer or just ahead of the curve?

SINGAPORE – In a landscape where the lines between lodging and living are increasingly blurred, Singapore-based CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI) bet on its co-living brand lyf (pronounced as “life”) is well placed. What began as a bold experiment in 2016 is now a rapidly expanding global network, fueled by CLI’s investment management capability and its Ascott lodging management expertise.

Since the first lyf Funan Singapore debuted in 2019, the portfolio has blossomed to 35 properties with more than 6,500 units across 24 cities in 13 countries. These include operating properties in Penang, Melbourne, Bangkok, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Shanghai, and new lyf openings in Paris and Sydney by 2Q25. In the pipeline are also properties in London, Glasgow and Manchester.

Although the brand's target of 150 properties with 30,000 units by 2030, announced in 2022, looks ambitious – that requires at least two dozen lyf openings a year for the next five years – it’s not necessarily unattainable. Ascott’s Chief Growth Officer Serena Lim pointed out that there's now “proof of concept” for the product, and its adaptability across geographical boundaries and in cities or resorts.

The acquisition of lyf Ginza Tokyo by Singapore-based Invictus Developments in October last year, barely a year after its opening in November 2023, also proves that the product is “tradable,” Lim said.

Invictus, the Singapore-based family office of Indonesian tycoon Bachtiar Karim, paid CLI’s Ascott Serviced Residence Global Fund JPY10.5 billion ($93 million at the time) for the 140-room property which, according to CLI, “exceeded its target ADR and occupancy rate within three months.” The private fund is a 50:50 joint venture between Ascott and Qatar Investment Authority. Ascott continues to manage the hotel.

Further underscoring investor confidence in the brand, CLI’s second private fund dedicated to serviced residences and co-living assets, CLARA II, established in February last year, acquired two seed assets upon its first close, a 50% stake in the 308-unit lyf Bugis Singapore and a 100% stake in the 200-unit lyf Shibuya Tokyo. The fund is 20% sponsored by CLI and among partners in the first close were global institutional investors in Europe and Asia.

Full value chain

But CLI’s aim is by no means to build or seed to sell, but to solidify its position as a full value chain, from deal-sourcing, investment, asset and fund management to development, design, construction, operation and management to generate returns to investors. “It’s a whole project life cycle,” Lim said. “We’re still managing the properties that we sold, which means our owners trust that we will continue to add value to their assets.”

She believes the time has come for Asian chains to spread their wings globally with brands that are scalable. “For us, we have the whole infrastructure behind us to push through this ambition, and our roots as an owner/operator sets us apart in efforts to optimize returns for our investors,” Lim said.

However, the optimism is not without its challenges. For one, Ascott, with a portfolio of nearly 1,000 properties across 230 cities in 40 countries, is still seen as mainly a serviced apartments player. This is despite its internal data showing that just over 50% of Ascott's revenue from direct bookings comes from extended-stays of seven nights and more. The other half is from short stays, indicating its ambition to grow as a hospitality company with strong transient and leisure stay segments is progressing well.

Competition in the co-living sector is also rising, with major chains like Accor investing in “blended living.” Accor says 50% of its guests now plan a stay extension, saying that integrating co-working spaces results in a 10% boost in RevPAR. Smaller co-living groups like Ruby Hotels, Habyt/Hmlet and Dash Living, meanwhile, are doubling down.

Certain institutional investors and private equity fund manager in Asia Pacific are tuning in, according to a CBRE research released in September 2024, which cited factors such as growing market acceptance and demand for such properties, long-term stable cashflows, and lenders willingness to provide construction and/or permanent debt capital for the projects.

Defining the space

But the challenge might not be so much about a lack of awareness of co-living among investors as an evolving segment where many co-living operators are struggling to define their niche. “The terminology of co-living bugs me,” Lim admitted, “because I spend so much time [with partners] just trying to talk about co-living and everyone has a different idea.”

She believes lyf is defining the space, which isn’t just matter of adding co-working facilities and services but creating a new lodging product altogether. At launch, Kevin Goh, CLI’s CEO for Lodging, said lyf “combines the best of serviced residences, hotels and co-living apartments.”

In brief, it’s a model that breaks the walls of conventional room sizes and configurations and does away with traditional hotel connecting rooms. This enables a lyf property “flex” quickly from short-term to long-term demand.

The first lyf Funan Singapore, for example, has eight room categories, from a room for a single traveler to an apartment with six bedrooms.

In unlocking new revenue streams is a key purpose of co-living for investors, and lyf's dedicated brand guardian, Adeline Phua, said the brand adopts a “retail” mindset for its social spaces, prioritizing revenue and profit per square meter.

Public areas are designed for versatility and available for rent and various activities by guests or external parties. The modular design enables spaces to transform for diverse events, beyond traditional hotel revenue streams. These spaces host everything from hackathons to yoga classes. Reception areas are converted into bars and meeting nooks are reimagined as flexible beverage spaces. Phua said this multi-functional approach, driven by creative space utilization and talented staff, generates diverse revenue streams.

Lyf operates with a lean staff structure, maximizing efficiency through multi-functional roles. “lyf crews” embody this, with roles like “ambassador of buzz” fostering guest connections and conversations. The “lyf guard,” on duty after 8 p.m., is trained to handle various situations, including basic maintenance tasks. The general manager serves as a “lyf champion.” This lean staffing model, combined with Ascott’s cluster shared service model, further delivers enhanced returns for property owners, Phua said.

And finally, lyf‘s “secret sauce” is emphasizing “experience-led social living,” a philosophy driven by flexible spaces and dynamic programming.

Beyond physical design, lyf properties focus on “deeper activation” through specific themes. Individual lyf teams can select themes like wellness, F&B, sustainability and technology, arts, culture and entertainment, and fashion and design, influencing the property’s event calendar. For example, lyf one-north, situated in a technology and R&D hub, emphasizes sustainability and technology activations, reflecting its location’s green and innovative environment.

As Bon Jovi's famous song ‘It’s My Life’ goes, it’s now or never for lyf.