The quality of student accommodation has certainly come a long way in recent years. Young uni students are turning away from outdated Halls of Residence in favour of design-led Purpose Built Student Accommodation.

Halls of Residence just aren’t meeting the needs of new age students. There’s no decent, quiet place to study, the amenity spaces are limited and the decor is often badly dated. If a sofa or armchair wouldn’t look out of place in a granny flat, you definitely won’t find it in PBSA.

And as the need for more suitable accommodation has grown, the student rental market has boomed. The amount of students living in PBSA has reached 30%, a rise of over 22% from 2013 according to data collected from the 2018/2019 academic year.

With a record breaking 516,650 students enrolled at university in 2021, and more first-years than ever opting for PBSA, it shows just how important accommodation has become, and how much the target market needs new alternatives.

PBSAs are great for students, but furnishing one can be tricky. Items installed need to be fit for purpose. They have to be stylish but not too on-trend, and of course, the price has to be right to keep the investors happy. Having student furniture packs in your accommodation is an easy way to cover these bases and will make fitting out your PBSA quick and simple.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the key ways student furniture packs increase the value of PBSA properties, saving you time and money.

STUDENT FURNITURE PACKS MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS

The Knight Frank and UCAS Student Survey 2021 found that quality furnishings were a deciding factor for 65% of students when they were choosing where to live. 85% also said the overall quality of the accommodation was a key and 92% were influenced by value for money. 

Using student furniture packs means you’re providing a solution that the target market is actively looking for. Students want style and comfort from where they live, and will almost certainly explore other accommodation options if they feel as though they’re not getting that. This can result in rooms being unrented, and void periods can seriously affect profit margins.

Save the Student is reporting that the average weekly rent for accommodation is £146 per week, just shy of £7600 for the year. Knight Frank have published similar data, with PBSA students specifically paying around £7200 per annum. Even if one room goes unrented, that’s a lot of money your development could be losing out on.

Our student furniture packs prevent this from happening because they’re put together by an award winning interior design team. Every item included in the pack goes well with all the other pieces, giving students the fresh, vibrant style they want.

We focus our efforts on timeless looks as well. If you furnish a property with the flavour of the month, next year’s influx of students won’t be impressed.

With 18 year’s worth of experience in fitting out student properties, we’ve gained a lot of insight into what students are looking for from furniture. They’re generally happy to pay premium costs if it means getting high quality living conditions in return.

And because student furniture packs are put together based on aesthetics, it makes replenishing items much easier. We guarantee a like-for-like replacement, and depending on your needs, we can have the new pieces delivered and installed by the next day.

STUDENT FURNITURE PACKS ARE AN INVESTMENT

Good, quality furniture is a must in PBSA, but that’s not solely based on the fact students now expect high end finishes. The right student furniture packs are made up of strong, durable pieces that are designed to last for a long time.

We’re always the first to admit that students can be careless with furniture. For many, it’ll be the first time they’ve lived away from home, and not having Mum and Dad around gives them a sense of freedom (even if there are still rules to follow and consequences for breaking them).

While they’re getting used to their new way of life, it can mean having to replace the odd sofa or two if you don’t buy from a specialist provider. Your average high street shop will sell great pieces, but they’re not exactly built to handle tipsy 20-somethings who are trying to impress their mates.

And even if that clumsiness doesn’t cause breakages, it can result in other forms of damage. Have you ever tried getting wine or pasta sauce out of a fabric sofa? It’s not easy, we can tell you that much. 

Quality student furniture packs are an investment. Pieces are built to withstand student shenanigans and are less likely to become damaged through general wear-and-tear. Low maintenance furniture also means students won’t have to think about regular upkeep. By investing in high quality furniture sets now, you’ll save on having to make repeat purchases in the future.

But, we understand that not every piece of furniture will be able to withstand constant use from generations of university students. That’s why we also offer a replenishment service. If any of our products are damaged over time, we can arrange a like-for-like replacement.

We’ll even take away the old pieces and packaging. Where possible, we recycle materials, including metals, plastics, cardboard and even mattresses, so you can be confident that our service helps create a more sustainable development, too.

LOFT HAS DIFFERENT STUDENT FURNITURE PACKS TO SUIT ALL BUDGETS

While all students are looking for safe and suitable accommodation, it’s important to remember not everyone can afford to live in a high end PBSA apartment for 3 or more years. To support students across a range of backgrounds, more low end accommodation is currently being built, bringing flexibility to the market.

We have a collection of different furniture packs to suit all budgets and styles, as some students want to spend their time at university in simple accommodation settings to keep costs down.

A survey carried out by Save the Student backs up this sentiment with one student saying she values basic but functional, healthy and cheap accommodation more than anything else.

We have student furniture packs to meet these needs. This means you can deliver on the low cost some students are looking for without them having to compromise on quality, which keeps them happy and helps to keep your PBSA at capacity.

Alongside our more cost-effective collections, we also have a range of high end student furniture packs for students with stronger financial situations.

You can also create your own package if you want to put your own stamp on things. Get in touch with a member of our team if this sounds like the right option for you. Our interior designers are on hand to help.

And not only does a student furniture pack work around student budgets, they work around yours, too. Purchasing items one at a time is the most expensive and time-consuming way to fit out a PBSA. With pre-selected packages, everything is already put together for you, and buying furniture in bulk means we can pass savings on to you.

As long as you’re offering students value for money (ie. rental figures are in line with the accommodation setting), then that’s the main thing they’re looking for. No one wants to feel like they’re being overcharged, and a LOFT student furniture pack always delivers on expectations.

WHY STUDENT FURNITURE PACKS OFFER THE BEST VALUE FOR MONEY

Using furniture packs is a great way for PBSA providers to create a homely, well designed space for students at the best possible price. While we understand why some service providers would prefer to source each individual item, this can take a long time to do and will end up costing more. With our student furniture packs, you’re guaranteed a collection of quality furniture that saves you both time and money.

Our team knows how much pressure there is on PBSA operators to fashion the perfect space, which is why our trained and experienced installation & delivery team are on hand to help.

After you’ve decided on the student furniture pack that’s right for your property, our team will deliver your furniture on time before assembling, installing and staging the property to create the biggest impact. We will also remove and recycle the packaging and old items so you don’t have to.

Make sure to view our full student furniture pack range, and get in touch with us if there’s anything we can do to help get the most value out of your PBSA. You can also contact us if you want to create your own furniture package, meaning you can always get the right furnishings you’re looking for at the best price.

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