Why Brookfield Embraces Airbnb: It Wants $1 of Every $4 in Rent Tenants Earn

World's Largest Real Estate Investor Bets Tenant Sublets Can Be Profitable

Some landlords across the U.S. and Canada may discourage tenants from subletting on Airbnb. But not Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, which figures it can reap as much as an extra 3 percentage points in return, taking a share of the extra cash tenants earn.

Jonathan Moore, managing director of Brookfield's real estate group with responsibility for multifamily investments, told the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference this week his company will encourage the activity in two apartment buildings in Nashville, Tennessee, and Kissimmee, Florida.

It may seem incongruous that Brookfield, the world's largest real estate investment company with assets of $196 billion in U.S. dollars, is trying to take a share of some extra cash from apartment dwellers. But as a multinational corporation, those fees can add up.

"It's a bit of what some of my colleagues call a science experiment," said Moore about the partnership agreement that has seen Brookfield invest US$200 million in a joint venture with Niido, the multifamily development venture of Airbnb. "Not only will we not forbid it like most landlords out there, we are going to encourage it. We are actually going to attract that consumer by way of programming, technology and something called a master host."

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