Our Mystery Shopping on 3 Million Property Project: This Is Why Units Don’t Sell. Branded Residences
Updated: Sep 19
Part of our role as consultants is staying close to market reality.
Mystery Shopping is one of the most effective ways to do that.
What we uncovered this week was extraordinary. Case Study / Costa del Sol, prepared by VOS Consultants
We enquired, six times, about Branded Residences within a recently launched mixed-use development by a global hospitality company, in Costa del Sol.
Six enquiries. No response.
We eventually contacted the operator directly and were told we had used the “wrong website.” It was their website. The page clearly said Branded Residences.
Eventually, a broker contacted us.
The project, we were told, was in “Private Sales.”
We booked a call.
Two agents joined. No branding. No presentation. No deck. No collateral.
Within one minute we were told:
31 villas available
Mandatory rental programme
60 days’ personal use
Prices from €3 million
Important detail: the hotel has been open for nine months.
So we asked basic questions any €3M buyer would ask:
Projected rental revenue? “We can’t provide that.”
Occupancy performance? “We can’t provide that.”
Current rack rates? “We can’t provide that.”(They are publicly available online.)
Service charges? €800 per month. (Highly questionable.)
Floor plans? “We don’t have any.”
Marketing materials? “We don’t have any. we are building our database first”
Photos or video? “We don’t have any.”
Clarification: The villas are fully built. Fully furnished. Starting at €3M.
So we asked:
“Can I buy one today?”
“Yes.”
“Without floor plans, confirmed pricing by size, service charge detail, financial projections, or any documentation?”
“Yes.”
This is a €3- €5 million product.
This is positioned as “Branded Residences.” which it very clearly isn’t.
This is fundamentally an investment-led purchase.
And the sales process consists of:
The project itself? Stunning.
The location? Excellent.
The opportunity? Significant.
The execution? Catastrophic.
The agents were from the master broker.
Clearly untrained.
Minimal product knowledge.
Zero structured sales approach.
When credibility collapses, trust disappears. And when trust disappears, sales disappear.
This was by some distance the most inept embarrassing non sales presentation I have ever sat through (I have sat through too many) it was truly a farcical situation.
The brand will be in the front line for damage here.
The responsibility for this, sits across:
The Master Broker
The Brand
The €175M Real Estate Investment Firm that acquired the asset last year
Developers often ask why absorption is slow.
Sometimes the answer isn’t pricing.
It’s process.
Yesterday I reached out to the Regional VP of the brand and the owner of the REIF group and offered a 10-minute call to discuss what we experienced.
No response.
If this is what a professional enquiry encounters, imagine what real buyers are experiencing.
FACT: So far we have completed more than 120+ Branded Residences Mystery SHopping reviewed around the world.
Written by Kevin Wash
Co - Founder & Commercial Architecture Advisor / VOS Consultants
About the Author: Kevin Wash is the Co- Founder of VOS Consultants and a specialist in Commercial Architecture for Branded Residences and Mixed-Use Developments. Drawing on decades of international experience across hospitality, luxury residential and commercial strategy, he advises developers and hospitality brands on aligning commercial positioning, buyer journey, sales execution and operational readiness to improve long-term project performance.
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