The two models
Hotel-connected residences share a site with the brand's hotel: Bulgari on Jumeirah Bay, Address and Vida in Emaar's communities, Fairmont on the Palm, SLS in Business Bay. Owners use the hotel's facilities and its staff, and the hotel usually runs a rental programme for owners who let.
Standalone branded residences carry the name and the design without a hotel: fashion and automotive names in particular. The services are provided by a management company under the brand's standards, and the amenities belong to the residents alone.
What the brand provides
In a hotel-connected scheme: concierge and reception, housekeeping and in-residence dining on request, access to the hotel's pools, spa, restaurants and beach, valet and security, and a rental programme where the hotel lets the home to guests and shares the income. In any scheme: the interiors and common areas built to the brand's specification, and the management contract that keeps them that way.
What the brand does not provide is ownership of anything beyond the home. The hotel remains the operator's, the amenities are used under the management agreement, and that agreement has a term, which is worth reading.
What it costs to run
Service charges in branded towers sit at the upper end of the Land Department's index, because the hotel-grade staffing and finishes are paid for by the owners. Some schemes also charge for the hotel services used, some bundle them. The rental programme, where there is one, takes a share of income in return for the hotel's occupancy and management.
None of this is a reason to avoid a branded home. It is a reason to know the service charge per square foot and the programme terms before the reservation, which is what we ask the developer for.
How to judge one
Three questions settle most cases. Who operates it and for how long: an operator with a long agreement and a track record in the city is worth more than a name on a brochure. What the registered sales say: Heritage benchmarks the asking price per square foot against the Land Department's registered transactions in the same tower and the unbranded towers beside it. And what the home is like without the brand: the plan, the view, the floor and the finish are what the next buyer pays for.