SAN FRANCISCO—After COVID finally weaves its way through the country, the workplace will take on monumental changes. But as many offices go remote, where people work will likely change as well.

What most aren't talking about is how this is going to change where people live. For the first time in history, people will be able to choose where they want to live rather than be tethered to the city where individual jobs are located.

One company, Landing, has been offering flexible long-term living since November 2019. Landing's fully finished apartments have no strict leases, no upfront security deposits, flexible terms and a user-friendly app within an industry-first membership model.

The concept was founded by Bill Smith whose grocery delivery company, Shipt, was acquired by Target a few years ago. Smith recently discussed how COVID has changed the living and working landscape, how Landing/hellolanding.com works, and in which cities it operates.

GlobeSt.com: How has COVID changed the living and working ecosystem?

Smith: We've observed the way COVID-19 has forever changed the way people will work and live. Remote work has given people the freedom to be untethered from the city their office is located in. While some predict people will stop moving as a result of the pandemic, we believe the opposite is true. Especially as more companies offer the ability to work from home indefinitely, employees have the option to choose where they want to live for the first time–a shift that is already having a massive impact on the rental industry. In fact, while top job markets like New York City are seeing declines in new renters, we've found that renters are instead moving on to secondary markets. Markets like Texas made up 30% of our total reservations in May and reservations in Florida increased by nearly 20%.

GlobeSt.com: How does Landing work?

Smith: Landing isn't a co-living, corporate or short-term rental company. Landing offers a membership-based model for long-term living. By partnering with developers and property managers, Landing offers its members access to high-quality developments. With a $199 annual membership fee, members gain access to apartments that are fully furnished and include everything you need to feel at home: furniture and decor, a fully equipped kitchen, access to 24/7 concierge service, and the freedom to pick up and move to a new Landing apartment, completely unburdened.

What that looks like is a network of apartments around the US that are available online and through our seamless app experience, which includes flexible leasing options that allow members to live wherever life takes them. So, if a member wants to live in Nashville for a summer and then New York for a year, they can do so.

We call this living-as-a-service. By providing all the essentials, Landing removes the stress and headaches of renting–searching for apartments, setting up utilities, moving furniture, buying furniture, etc.–all with flexibility.

GlobeSt.com: What cities is it in?

Smith: Landing is currently available in 18 cities across the US–including Atlanta, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Orlando, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, DC.

GlobeSt.com: How many renters so far?

Smith: Although we're not sharing a number of members publicly, new Landing memberships were up 210% in May alone and we've experienced more than 50% growth since February. We also currently have over 1,100 available listings across the US.

GlobeSt.com: Anything else of interest?

Smith: After her time designing for Marriott and Starbucks, Kaleigh Foy joined us as our head of design to help us create a member experience that is as personal as it is comfortable. To ensure that, each of our apartments is professionally curated and outfitted with our high-quality furniture line–designed and manufactured exclusively by Landing to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. For our mattresses alone, we went so far as to test out nearly every style, fabric and firmness to design the mattress that provided the best night's sleep.

Instant Insights /

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