Middle Street, Brighton

Blok-74:

The property is an 11 key all en-suite hotel arranged over 5 floors. It is
located in the centre of Brighton and is a stone's throw from Brighton
Beach. This Grade 2 listed building underwent extensive refurbishment
to achieve a high quality finish. The property provides 11 self-contained
studio units, including a 6 guest studio apartment at basement level.

Introduction - This unique site was developed by the current owners with a vision of modernising traditional guest houses/hotels to meet the changing needs of guests and provide a robust long-term investment. Taking operational influence from the serviced apartment/Airbnb market, they have created a highly systemised, self check-in, Aparthotel-style business model which has proven to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the short-stay market.

Self service accommodation has boomed throughout the UK in the last few years with many guests now valuing independence and convenience over traditional bed and breakfast offerings. The onset of the pandemic acted as a catalyst in changing the way people travel, with travellers increasingly prioritising more private, self-contained spaces. One Broad Street which started operating in 2018 was ahead of the curve and naturally met this demand, successfully navigated Covid and remaining profitable throughout the pandemic. Blok-74 opened it’s doors in 2021 and instantly benefited from the staycation boom.

The trend for self-check in accommodation has remained and many existing small guest houses across the UK have now followed suit by repurposing to a room only model. However unlike Blok-74 many of these properties do not have the infrastructure and technology to safely and efficiently manage an unmanned hotel operation.

The site was renovated specifically with this model in mind and meets the stringent building regulations and fire safety standards required by the council for such operations. The property has a sprinkler system, monitored fire alarm,
CCTV and digital door lock systems which would all be extremely costly and challenging to retrofit to any building.

From an operational perspective, the added levels of self-containment in the boutique-style studio rooms and the automated remote management processes, have removed many of the inefficiencies present in traditional hotels, such as onsite reception, restaurants and staff/owner accommodation. This not only results in increased revenue, but also reduces overall running costs.

The streamlined operations are centralised and managed by a small offsite team, providing scales of economy. Housekeeping is outsourced to a third party contractor and a trusted pool of tradespeople carry out maintenance. There is 24 hour security/key holder via and independent contractor who can be at site within just a few minutes if needed. A modern suite of operational software integrates seamlessly to provide high levels of automation. This includes a PMS with built in channel manager and guest communication platform, digital locks software and dynamic revenue management which can all be managed remotely.

This highly systemised structure has been created by the current owners, allowing them to maintain a lean business that does not require their day to day involvement and ensures an attractive proposition for any prospective buyers looking for a highly automated guest model.

Blok-74 Property Overview - The property is an 11 key all en-suite hotel arranged over 5 floors. It is
located in the centre of Brighton and is a stone's throw from Brighton
Beach. This Grade 2 listed building underwent extensive refurbishment
to achieve a high quality finish. The property provides 11 self-contained
studio units, including a 6 guest studio apartment at basement level.
Following the same model as One Broad Street, the owners have incorporated
creative bespoke design and the guest units feature mood lighting, open
storage high quality beds, smart TV’s and kitchenette facilities with fridge,
microwave and Nespresso coffee machine.
The building has an integrated sprinkler system, monitored fire alarm, CCTV and
the same digital smart lock system and high speed radio wave internet as
described in One Broad Street.
There is a range of bedroom types across the building including: 5 double units,
5 King units with zip & link beds allowing for conversion between king and twin
setup and 1 apartment suite across the whole of the basement which can can
sleep up to 6 people.