Flexibility from the market players is the emerging trend in the sector. Students can book with us for as little as two weeks to assess the suitability of the residence and location before extending for a longer period. PBSA (Purpose-built Student Accommodation) and BTR are becoming increasingly attractive propositions. Now, more than ever, students are opting for supportive and well-managed student residences as their preferred option
Tell us a bit about your role and how it supports the business?
As Senior Business Development Manager, I identify, cultivate and secure business partnerships with agents, institutions, and booking platforms. My role allows me to strike relationships with other players in the student market. I have a very varied role and over the years I have also been involved in all aspects of the day-to-day running of the business.
What has been your career highlight to date?
Seeing Londonist evolve as an organisation and be awarded ST Star Service Provider and PIEoneer Award 2022 in the international student living category was great recognition of our team’s hard work.
My company supported me in Berlin where I was awarded the ‘Outstanding Departmental Manager’ Award by the Lead5050 Association.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Do your due diligence, then follow your instincts.
If you were not working in this sector what other industry would you have pursued a career in?
My earlier passion was research in cognitive linguistics. I might have been a surfer but guess after my recent attempts, it wouldn’t have been the right move, but that won’t stop me persisting!
What are the emerging trends within your sector and have these changed since Covid-19?
Covid has largely contributed to an increased industry appetite for online booking, digital preferences and flexible stays. The past year has seen a rise in demand for housing offering studio room models and short-term stays. The industry continues to face challenges with the supply chain and bed availability – supply is not meeting the demand, but herein lies the opportunity.
Flexibility from the market players is the emerging trend in the sector. Students can book with us for as little as two weeks to assess the suitability of the residence and location before extending for a longer period. PBSA (Purpose-built Student Accommodation) and BTR are becoming increasingly attractive propositions. Now, more than ever, students are opting for supportive and well-managed student residences as their preferred option.
What is coming up for your company in the next 12/18 months?
In the next 12/18 months, the plan is to serve the continuous growth of our portfolio outside of London. We have just launched the co-branded platform Uninist to address the needs of PBSA market across Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. We have also reopened our office in Shanghai. We are developing Londonist Student Portal – a one-stop platform for international students to manage their reservations for accommodation, e-account, transportation, and London’s best-known attractions in recognition of our students’ needs. We continually review our strategy for engaging with the global agency network and the travel trade. My mission is to develop a purposeful approach to partnerships. We are conscious of liaising with organisations in a manner that supports the wellbeing of our students.
Tell us one thing about your business that others might not already know.
Recently we have secured one of the highest volume of rooms ever taken whilst forming partnerships with new PBSA providers. This has required the business to scale up and improve the functionality of our systems, one of which is the student portal. With the increased capacity, we ran an extensive outdoor media campaign ‘Move with Londonist’ across London buses, tube escalators, bus stands, and lamp posts for over a month – the most significant investment in outdoor advertising made to date.
As an association what one thing do you think we have done that has made a real difference to you as a business?
BETA’s values and Emma’s active role in the industry resonates with Londonist. BETA managed to unite its members and forge connections critical to our B2B engagement strategy. I strongly believe BETA is fundamental to growing youth travel and am excited to be joining the BETA Board and working together on delivering the action plan.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges, threats and opportunities for youth, student and educational travel in the next few years?
It is reassuring that international student numbers are on the rise. We have had a phenomenal start with the new academic year bookings for 23-24 AY. The UK experiences high demand from the US and the Chinese market has reopened. To address this surge, we’ve increased the number of our Chinese support team members to ensure we continue to deliver a personalised service.
In this challenging economic environment with rising living costs, more international students are opting for the bill-inclusive model of the PBSA.
International students view accommodation as a part of a wider experience. They expect accommodation agencies to have an online self-service support portal: a one-stop reservation platform to ease the process of accessing accommodation and London’s best-known attractions.
It is paramount that we understand our partners’ requirements and that we support each other in delivering youth, student and educational travel given its contribution to the UK economy.
Find out more about BETA member and Gold Sponsor Londonist here
Published 01 July 2023
