If you think about 2020, you would want to forget the year and its effect on human life and the global economy says Maxwell Drever. No one anticipated the virus. And the global pandemic has affected each industry sector. However, one industry vertical that got affected severely is the hotel industry. The reason for this is the rapid and sudden decline in travel and tourism. Hotels recorded almost zero occupancy rates which made most hotels in the United States run at a loss. According to the studies and research, it will take another three to four years to revive back to what it used to be during pre-pandemic times.
Simultaneously, the housing crisis in the United States has been acute for a while. The pandemic has made more people move out of their houses and reside in poor-quality homes in rural areas. Also, some people stay on the streets because they got evicted. Hence, it was a golden chance to help this situation by using the vacant hotels as a base for low-cost accommodations. Therefore, Maxwell Drever says, most hotel owners have handed over their hotels to developers so that they can get converted into low-cost workforce accommodation units.
There are several reasons for which hotel owners have opted in for this decision. They are:
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Hotels already provide an accommodation facility
When you transform an existing property into low-cost housing, you can expect the cost to be less than if you had developed a new property. Since today the percentage of broken and distressed hotels are more in the United States, it makes perfect sense to transform them into housing units. Usually, the hotels follow a residential plan. It has a kitchen, washroom, bedroom, and other facilities that the workforce population needs. Hence, the conversion of hotels seems to be an easy and manageable way to provide housing units.
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As a philanthropic act
You will come across hotels in the United States that is over a hundred years old. Some of these hotels are in function, while others get maintained but aren’t in use. Since the hotel owners can provide the developers with the required space to build a home for the homeless and workforce population, they did decide to convert their hotels. Ideally, it is a philanthropic act and backed up by a business angle that the hotel owner would know and understand.
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The hotels are located strategically
Location plays a crucial role when you are developing an affordable workforce housing unit. The workforce population search for a house in an area that is near to their workplace. It will ensure that they reach the office and return back from the office in time. It helps to maintain a work-life balance and helps to increase work-life productivity. Since most hotels have a strategic location and are connect to the conveyance modes. It’s an excellent decision to convert them into a low-cost housing unit.
Maxwell Drever says that a hotel doesn’t need to undergo much change when transformed into a low-cost housing unit. However, it’s necessary to get the repairs done so that the transformation process doesn’t face any issues.
