Nick Wilson

Property Correspondent

HOTEL management group Urban Hip Hotels said yesterday it would be introducing a five-star luxury residential hotel concept in Johannesburg this year.

Three planned "condominium" hotels, two in the central business district (CBD) and one in Killarney, would have a combined investment value of R400m and would be a "significant milestone" in the Johannesburg inner-city rejuvenation programme, said the group.

The condominium hotel concept allowed individual investors to place their apartments in a rental pool, and the combination of short-term hotel occupancy and long-term stay ensured a significantly better return than the typical long-term stay rentals achieved in a luxury residential apartment complex, the group said.

The hotels would have features such as a concierge and a front desk, a gymnasium and also restaurants.

The two CBD residential hotels would be located at the redeveloped Franklin and Shakespeare Place buildings in the financial district.

The Killarney hotel development would be in a new building called Splice.

The Franklin and Shakespeare Place, which are being redeveloped by Urban Ocean, were initially launched as luxury residential apartment concepts.

Kobus Botha of Urban Hip Hotels said the initial concept was to sell the units to investors, who would in turn rent them out to earn an income.

Botha said Urban Ocean approached the Urban Hip Hotel team about two years ago wanting to create a better return for investors.

Investors had the choice of having their units included in the rental pool or being all-year residents.