Working with the architect, DHI developed the hotel fact sheet, area programme and concept design for an upscale aparthotel designed around the realities of the Umhlanga market. Every square metre mattered. Too little compromises the guest experience and hotel operation. Too much costs the developer money and ultimately affects investor returns.
With the product defined, we went to the international hotel market to identify the brand that best matched the location, the development and, importantly, the investment proposition for sectional title buyers.
Radisson was selected as the best fit.
But selecting the brand was only the beginning.
We supported the owner through the negotiation of the LOI, heads of terms and hotel management agreement with Radisson, together with the trademark licence agreement giving the developer the right to market and sell the serviced apartments under the Radisson brand. At the same time, the sectional title structure had to connect the sales agreements, rental pool agreement, body corporate arrangements and hotel management agreement. The developer would remain in the property after opening through an SPV positioned between Radisson as hotel operator and the individual sectional title owners.
The structure had to protect the integrity of the hotel while giving investors a clear framework for how their apartments would be operated, how they would participate in the rental pool and how the hotel would continue to function after the developer had sold the units. Working with Radisson, the architect and the developer, we then helped shape a serviced apartment product that respected the brand standards but also made commercial sense to build, operate and sell. Because this development had more than one customer.
The guest had to want to stay there.
The investor had to want to buy there.
With the product, brand, legal and investment structures aligned, we worked alongside Rainmaker on the sales strategy, collateral, advertising and brand-compliant marketing campaign. Full development finance was secured, with three banks providing finance to individual purchasers.The developer had anticipated a six-month sales programme.
It didn't need six months.
The result wasn't simply a successful property launch.
It demonstrated what happens when the site, product, brand, operating model, legal structure, pricing, finance and sales strategy are aligned before going to market.