SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Co-living operator Hmlet will now operate under the brand Habyt. The rebranding exercise follows the company’s merger last year with European co-living player Habyt.

In a July 11 press release, Habyt also announced the appointment of Jonathan Wong as its Asia Pacific (Apac) CEO, heading a new leadership team for the region. Wong previously held senior executive positions at CloudKitchens and Uber.

He replaces Giselle Makarachvili, Hmlet’s CEO since October 2021. Following the merger with Habyt last year, she was also appointed to the position of Habyt’s head of Apac, reporting to Habyt CEO Luca Bovone.

A week ago, Makarachvili posted on her LinkedIn profile announcing she was stepping down from her role. “After years of non-stop, I chose to take a short pause to enjoy adventures with my one-year-old as we count five weeks to welcoming his sister,” she says.

The goal of the rebranding is to create a distinct identity that reflects the company’s values and missions. “Rebranding Hmlet to Habyt in Apac was the next logical step following last year’s merger and will enable us to retain all the best parts of the strong Hmlet legacy, while fully leveraging the synergies of being one larger global entity that’s setting out to revolutionise the way people live and move around,” Wong says.

He adds that the transition to the Habyt brand will be made gradually over the coming months.

Hmlet currently operates over 1,000 units across Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. It is a member of Habyt, whose portfolio today consists of over 30,000 units in 50 cities.