March 27, 2019

Listing Buckingham Palace on Airbnb Could Bring £1M a Day

Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II, could earn £1,034,291.43 a day if listed on Airbnb. The figure was calculated by GuestReady, a globally leading Airbnb management company, to demonstrate how much the sovereign could profit if she rented out the palace’s rooms on the short-term rental

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New Partnership to Provide Tenancy Deposit Alternative

Tenant Shop, an Inchora company is delighted to announce that it has entered into a new partnership with Reposit in order to provide a security deposit alternative product within its portfolio for agents, landlords and tenants. Tenancy deposits have traditionally comprised six weeks rent and despite the cap in the

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How important will programming skills be to future builders

As with most industries, evolving technology is changing the way that the construction industry operates.  With engineers increasingly using software for architectural purposes, could we also see other roles within the industry change too e.g. robots performing manual tasks, or building design via virtual reality (VR)?   In this article,

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University Building Named ‘Outstanding Project’ in Double Award Win

It was a double night of success for Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) and architecture and sports & leisure firm LK2 at the Lincoln Good Design Awards, as the newly renovated Constance Stewart Hall took home the coveted ‘Outstanding Project’ and ‘Best Commercial Project’ awards. Designed by LK2, the impressive £2.2m

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

March 27, 2019

Listing Buckingham Palace on Airbnb Could Bring £1M a Day

Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II, could earn £1,034,291.43 a day if listed on Airbnb. The figure was calculated by GuestReady, a globally leading Airbnb management company, to demonstrate how much the sovereign could profit if she rented out the palace’s rooms on the short-term rental platform. The palace has 775 rooms, of which include but are not limited to, 19 Staterooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The overall figure represents the rent price for one day in the palace’s premises, including access to the property’s garden and facilities. The calculations were made by taking into consideration the daily rental rate of properties in the same area where Buckingham Palace is located. GuestReady made sure its estimate was based on prices of office and events spaces, flats and hotel suites that provide a similar level of luxury that one would expect to get at the palace. In addition, GuestReady accounted for the fact that with the high number of quality amenities offered at the palace – such as a private movie theatre, indoor swimming pool, post office, or medical centre – the daily rates would increase by approximately 50%. According to GuestReady’s numbers, one night in one of the 52 Royal bedrooms would be £3,570, while those keen to stay at Buckingham Palace on a budget could stay in one of the staff apartments on a significantly cheaper amount for just £284 a night. If you fancy renting out the banquet room, which seats 160 guests, you’d need to pay £16,000. If you’re expecting more guests, you can take the party to the palace’s garden where approximately 8,000 people are usually invited to the royal garden celebrations. Buckingham Palace’s garden covers 40 acres and includes a helicopter landing area, a lake, and a tennis court. To rent that space out for one day, the price is a bit steeper at £400,000. “Who never imagined what would be like to stay as a guest at Buckingham Palace? Millions of people around the world are fascinated by the British Royal Family, so we thought we’d crunch the numbers to give them a bit of a glimpse of how much one of the most famous properties in the planet would go for if listed on Airbnb. Even though travellers are still not allowed to book the palace as their next holiday accommodation, there are still plenty of amazing properties in London they can book through short-term rental platforms,” commented Steffan Maagefelt, UK Country Manager at GuestReady.

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New Partnership to Provide Tenancy Deposit Alternative

Tenant Shop, an Inchora company is delighted to announce that it has entered into a new partnership with Reposit in order to provide a security deposit alternative product within its portfolio for agents, landlords and tenants. Tenancy deposits have traditionally comprised six weeks rent and despite the cap in the Tenant Fee Bill bringing this to five weeks, a lump sum of this amount can be difficult for some renters to find. Reposit’s security deposit alternative provides a new way to rent property, with tenants only required to pay a single week’s rent as a service fee to add their landlord to a group insurance policy. The policy covers a landlord for everything that the traditional lump sum would have covered at less cost to the tenant. This innovative product helps landlords fill their properties quickly and securely and gives tenants a deposit alternative. The product crucially includes eight weeks rent as cover (three weeks more cover than cash deposits can legally offer due to capping at five weeks rent)  as well as Reposit dealing with all collections of owed money from the tenant via their platform. Tenant Shop prides itself in offering the highest industry standard of products and services to its customers and this is where Reposit’s product excels. Unlike other security deposit alternatives, this product sees a tenant paying a service fee and Reposit then adding their landlord to a group insurance policy as a named beneficiary. As a result only the tenant’s landlord can cancel the policy. This means that the policy is not in the name of someone who cannot claim or be a beneficiary. This ensures maximum regulatory compliance and a far better customer outcome for both landlord and tenant. Reposit’s scheme has significant check-out / claims data to prove that the product works end to end with independent arbitration in the case of a dispute. Underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s, regulated by the FCA and covered by the FSCS, Reposit proves itself as the strongest product on the market. Tenant Shop has been partnering agents for over ten years providing its dedicated technology platform SULU to help them manage tenancies and reduce workload. It provides agent, landlord and tenant services through notifications, dedicated account management, a unique void solution and utility, media and insurance services (including rent protection). Reposit will be added to the portfolio in April and will be provided in two ways. Letting agents and their landlords will be able to use Reposit via direct introduction from Tenant Shop or coupled with referencing via their preferred referencing partner, UKtenantdata.

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How important will programming skills be to future builders

As with most industries, evolving technology is changing the way that the construction industry operates.  With engineers increasingly using software for architectural purposes, could we also see other roles within the industry change too e.g. robots performing manual tasks, or building design via virtual reality (VR)?   In this article, structure design software specialists, Oasys, investigate potential changes that could be on the way with regard to both builders and construction workers, as our world becomes more advanced with technology.     Will jobs be under threat? This is a common question that is asked in the workplace, but the answer is never a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Technology will not steal our jobs, but just replace us as we shift roles. But how will this impact the construction industry? To understand, we need to have an oversight on statistics that have been released regarding this issue.   Boston Consulting Group has said that by 2025, up to a quarter of jobs will be replaced by smart software or robots. This includes a range of professions, from factory workers to doctors, and even journalists. However, a study carried out by Oxford University has said that 35% of existing jobs in Britain are at risk of automation in the next 20 years.   In terms of reduction in physical workers, there is a lot of uncertainty. However, this can be challenged if we start preparing early and encourage current and future workers to adapt to the changes. This could include advancing their own skillset with a focus on how they can do their job better with the use of technology.   Evolving technology, evolving roles? With news that implies technology will replace physical workers, it is often forgotten that people need to manage this technology and make sure that it is operating correctly. It’s also left unmentioned that workers will need to use technology, and that leads us to the decision that in the construction industry, builders of the future will become programmers.   Over the years, we have seen constant changes in the way we work, and the construction sector has been very accepting to new and innovative methods to make jobs easier. From hammers to nail guns, shovels to diggers — and now practical labour to programming.   However, this cannot be achieved overnight. Programming is a topic that schools around the UK should be looking to implement into their curriculums as a core subject to keep up with the demand of jobs and to keep up with the constant changes in technology. If we’re teaching young people old ways, they will be useless when it comes to doing the work and there might not even be jobs available that match their skillsets. With the constant growth in technology surrounding construction, young people need to be prepared with the skills and this shouldn’t be up for debate. Like the studies discussed earlier, more jobs are at risk of being lost due to smart software and robots. Workers need to be as good as the technology.   When it comes to a common piece of software that is used in construction, Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an element that can be beneficial, as it allows the appropriate people to access all of the information about a project in one place. It can look at key stages of a project across the lifecycle of a job and provide the information that is needed. This can save both time and money for any construction company and allows builders to have a clear oversight. BIM can help illustrate the entire building, from starting processes to its demolition, and can even show how materials can be reused.   This suggests that technology is taking over, and if people want to remain in the loop of having a career and developing personally with the changes, it’s best to start sooner rather than later.   Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33327659 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/19/robot-based-economy-san-francisco

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‘Impressive’ new recycling facility on course to be finished on time

A new state-of-the-art £4million recycling ‘super site’ in Bristol is on track to be finished by the beginning of April. ETM’s new Turmec Materials Recovering Facility (MRF) is set to be the most efficient and effective plant in the South West processing construction and commercial waste and will be a zero waste to landfill plant. And after just two months, it’s almost up and running. After clearing the site for the installation, phase one of the build started in early January and included the waste screen, the largest part of the MRF, being lifted into place and the plant’s largest conveyor installed. The plant will have 26 conveyors to efficiently move the waste around the site. Phase two started in the middle of February when walkways and bays started taking shape. The entire MRF can be accessed safely via walkways, separating operatives from vehicles and the plant at all times. And with phase three almost complete, it makes for an impressive site. “We are very excited to see it up and running,” said Amy McCormack, Director of ETM Recycling. “People have constantly been asking us when it’s going to open, and it has already opened more doors in terms of clients who want to come on board.” Having spotted a gap in the market for such a facility, Amy researched and visited several plants and engineers over a two-year period and has worked closely with Turmec to ensure the plant was designed and built to meet its exact waste inputs, so it is completely bespoke to ETM’s needs. The build has not been without its challenges, not least because ETM had to completely redevelop their existing site, which meant demolishing offices and building new surrounding walls and concrete floors. Amy said: “We believe our position in South Bristol is key and allows us to respond quickly to our clients’ needs and covers a large area, so we didn’t want to move to a new site. “This meant that we had to continue to operate and process waste whilst building the new plant on a very tight site, which was hugely challenging. “It has been a big learning curve for all of us, but now it’s almost there we can’t wait to see it in all its glory.” For more information, visit https://recyclingbristol.com/ or telephone 0117 953 3654.

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University Building Named ‘Outstanding Project’ in Double Award Win

It was a double night of success for Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) and architecture and sports & leisure firm LK2 at the Lincoln Good Design Awards, as the newly renovated Constance Stewart Hall took home the coveted ‘Outstanding Project’ and ‘Best Commercial Project’ awards. Designed by LK2, the impressive £2.2m redevelopment was chosen by the Planning Department of Lincoln City Council as the overall ‘Outstanding Project’ of 2019, whilst a public vote placed it top in the commercial category. In naming it the ‘Outstanding Project’ the panel praised the design’s ability to maintain the heart and character of the existing art deco building whilst adding a modern aesthetic: “This modern extension to an academic building has real dynamism with bold modern materials and strong geometry which creates great contrast, whilst referencing the art deco design of the host building. The result is a prominent and sculptural focal point onto this busy junction announcing BGU’s presence.” As the Vice-Chancellor of BGU, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, noted, this union of history and innovation was vital to the University: “When it came to creating a new flexible teaching space we needed a building that would support our ambitions, and we wanted a team of architects who could make this a reality. The design by LK2 for Constance Stewart Hall perfectly captured this balance and our finished building provides students with cutting edge facilities to help them progress. We are incredibly proud to have been an integral part of the Lincoln community for over 150 years and it is immensely rewarding to see that the people of this city hold our campus in such a high regard.” Dale Lui, chief executive of LK2 Group, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded two fantastic awards for this iconic scheme which has transformed the cityscape. The extra special thing about this award is that the project was voted for by the general public, showing that people from the city of Lincoln appreciate the building’s design. “This project showcases the impact of good design in so many different ways. Acting as a ‘shop window’, the new building gives BGU’s campus greater prominence and promotes the university to the wider community. The design of the building has enabled us to create an ‘outward-looking’ part of the campus, inviting local people to see the university as part of their community.”

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