Cleverly Home, a custom home builder in Japan, has come up with a way to generate additional revenue from its model homes, while also opening up a new way for prospective homeowners to experience its designs. A reporter for the Nikkei in Japan was quite taken by the concept as the homebuilder will allow the model homes to be rented out as private lodgings on dates when no homebuyer showings are scheduled.
Learn all about custom home builder Cleverly Home’s clever idea…
Custom homebuilder Cleverly Home is part of the Shinshowa Housing Group and is based in Chiba prefecture, right next to Tokyo. The company has built multiple model homes to show off its many designs and styles. Model homes are shown by appointment only, and oftentimes sit empty as they are between appointments with potential homebuyers.
The company has come up with an idea for a way to monetize these often empty homes by offering them for short-term rentals to foreign tourists and other young Japanese not yet interested in buying a home. It could also represent an opportunity for a potential buyer to “try out” a new style of home by living in it for a few days to see if it is compatible with their lifestyle.
Sort of Like Airbnb, But Not Actually Airbnb
This concept is known in Japan as minpaku, which translates as “private lodging,” or private homes offered for short-term rentals (think Airbnb). However, Airbnb is not involved in this project. Rather, Cleverly Homes will run the entire operation off a dedicated website through which interested travelers can book directly.
The company is first testing the concept on a model home in Chiba’s Kisarazu area, near an interchange on the highly trafficked Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line highway. This home is part of its Vary’s brand with a design sensibility targeted towards younger buyers.
A Contemporary Design Meant to Appeal to a Younger Homeowner
One of the company’s most contemporary designs, the Kisarazu model home is 75 square meters big (big by Japan standards, that is), and is expected to be priced at around ¥40,000 to ¥50,000 – the equivalent of about $265 to $332 – per night. According to the report, check-ins start at 3 p.m. and are fully automated. Guests must check out by 10:00 a.m. the next morning.
As you would expect, the model is very much a working home, hooked up to all necessary utilities. It is also fully furnished and even comes with a sauna, towels, and toiletries. Required housekeeping and linen changes will be handled by Rakuya, another Shinshowa Group Company.
Builder Has High Hopes for This Program
Cleverly Homes has high hopes for this project. There is a popular outlet mall located nearby, and Cleverly management believes this will provide for a steady stream of demand from visiting foreign tourists. They are additionally hopeful that this program will also attract younger guests, including students, to pique their interest in homeownership through the experience of staying in a well-designed single-family home.
Assuming this test project goes well, Cleverly Homes stands ready to expand the program to its many other model homes.
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