How The Cleveland Arms achieved 98.3% occupancy

About The Cleveland Arms

The Cleveland Arms, first constructed in 1852, is a beautiful Grade-II listed building which operates as both a well-loved pub and set of apartments in the heart of Paddington. It was transformed by Maria Tamander, former film executive, in 2014.

Challenge

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that Tamander knows a thing or two about transforming rental units into spaces that people love. In completely uplifting The Cleveland Arms interior, she created 6 chic and thoughtfully designed apartments, as well as a local pub downstairs serving seasonal food paired with the best wines and beers.

Having experience in property management and understanding the value of excellent customer service, Tamander knew how challenging and time consuming it would be to achieve this high standard for her rental units without a property management company. She wanted to be able to free up her time to focus on other projects, while also ensuring her residents received the best service possible.

“We started off on our own which was fine because we had quite a lot of work with concierge companies. 1 or 2 units is easier to manage yourself, but as soon as the number increases, there are a lot of separate calendars to organise and much more to keep on top of.”

Maria Tamander

The aim was to find 1 trustworthy and transparent partner to manage everything to a standard that matched her expectations.

On top of this, Tamander wanted to ensure she could get the most out of her investment, achieving higher rents that reflected the quality of her rental units, as well as the service.

Having experience in property management and understanding the value of excellent customer service, Tamander knew how challenging and time consuming it would be to achieve this high standard for her rental units without a property management company. She wanted to be able to free up her time to focus on other projects, while also ensuring her residents received the best service possible.

“We started off on our own which was fine because we had quite a lot of work with other concierge companies. 1 or 2 units is easier to manage yourself, but as soon as the number increases, there are a lot of separate calendars to organise and much more to keep on top of.”

Maria Tamander

The aim was to find 1 trustworthy and transparent source to manage everything to a standard that matched her expectation.

On top of this, Tamander wanted to ensure she could get the most out of her investment, achieving higher rents that reflected the quality of her rental units, as well as the service.

Solution

Tamander recognised the need to partner with a property management company to take care of everything related to her rental units. It was also important for her to find a partner who could handle maintenance and housekeeping using a trusted network of staff who could guarantee a timely and high quality of service without driving up costs.

After being recommended to her by a friend, Tamander got in touch with City Relay.

City Relay’s end-to-end property management service, proprietary technology providing partners with a 360-degree view of portfolio performance, and a reliable, high-quality network of maintenance and housekeeping experts across London, was just what Tamander was looking for.

In partnering with City Relay, she was able to maintain a high-level overview of her rental units and how they were performing, all while leaving the day-to-day work to City Relay.

“City Relay proved that their maintenance and cleaning staff operated at a high level – this was a really big thing for me. Finding a network of staff for maintenance and cleaning that can provide a consistently high-quality service without significantly driving up costs can be really difficult.”

Maria Tamander

Having everything managed under one roof to a standard she could trust was a huge weight off Tamander’s shoulders. The good relationship between her and City Relay meant that as partners, we were able to be as resourceful as possible and provide a service that was really customised to Tamander’s requirements.

“In order get the most out of a partnership, both agents and owners really need to have a good working relationship. I believe that City Relay and I both learnt from each other, and this was fundamental for us to meet each other’s high standards.”

Maria Tamander

Results

• Everything managed through 1 source
• By increasing the minimum stay, we were able to reduce operational costs by ensuring the rental units’ turnover remained low
• Occupancy rates have reached 98.3%
• Higher rental yields thanks to our flexible letting model that blends short, mid and long-term lets to achieve the highest returns with the least risk

Conclusion

“The results speak for themselves! City Relay have lived up to expectation – I would recommend them.” 

Maria Tamander

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