No-cost attendance for hospitality owners and property managers at Urban Living Festival 2027

Title: No-cost attendance for property managers and investors at Urban Living Festival 2027 Publication: ShortTermRentalz Date: September 9, 2026

International Hospitality Media (IHM) has announced a significant format change for the Urban Living Festival (ULF) 2027. Scheduled for February 16, 2027, at Novotel London West, the event will offer free attendance to pre-approved property managers, owners, investors, and developers.

The festival aims to host over 1,500 attendees and 175 speakers, covering sectors including short-term rentals, coliving, build-to-rent (BTR), and serviced apartments. By removing the ticket cost for operators and owners, the organizers intend to foster a more inclusive environment for cross-sector collaboration. Flexible living brand City Pop has signed on as the headline sponsor for the 2027 and 2028 events.

This shift reflects the ongoing convergence of hospitality and operational real estate. For STR operators, the event provides a low-barrier opportunity to network directly with institutional investors and developers from adjacent sectors. As the boundaries between "staying" and "living" blur, understanding how BTR and coliving models overlap with STR is becoming a competitive necessity. For technology vendors, the "no-cost" model for buyers typically results in a higher volume of qualified decision-makers on the floor, increasing the potential for lead generation and brand visibility.

• Asset Class Convergence: The inclusion of "later living," "student accommodation," and "flex workspace" alongside STR suggests a market move toward multi-use operational platforms.
• New Event Economics: IHM's pivot to a "free for operators" model indicates a strategy to prioritize audience quality and volume to attract high-value sponsorships.
• Headline Partnership: City Pop’s multi-year commitment signals confidence in the growth of the European flexible living market.
• Networking Focus: The emphasis on "curated networking" and "innovation showcases" over traditional lectures suggests a demand for more practical, business-oriented interactions.

The decision by Piers Brown and the IHM team to eliminate registration fees for the "buy-side" of the industry is a strategic play to maintain dominance in an increasingly crowded conference circuit. For STR tech vendors, this is a double-edged sword: expect higher sponsorship or exhibition costs, but with the trade-off of a much denser concentration of potential clients. Operators should view this as an opportunity to exit the "STR silo" and explore how their management technology might scale into other urban living asset classes.

No-cost attendance for property managers and investors at Urban Living Festival 2027