Photo credit: Allie Michelle.
One of the things preventing the sharing economy from swallowing traditional operators is professionalization and standardization of services.
There’s no doubt that platforms like Airbnb have ravaged the dominance of hotels and serviced apartments. Airbnb offers arguably a wider variety of choices and an intimate environment that hotels struggle to maintain.
But hotels aren’t going to go away anytime soon. That’s because travelers know they’ll always get a neat, clean room at check-in. There’s no need to coordinate arrival time with an individual either, as a hotel lobby is open around the clock. And, if there are any nasty surprises, the room will probably be changed, with apologetic smiles and freebies thrown in for good measure.
There’s no such recourse at Airbnb.
Lou Chan helped create GuestReady to bridge the gap between the thrill of the sharing economy and the efficiency of holiday rentals. The startup helps manage properties for Airbnb hosts, which includes cleaning, laundry, check-in/out, as well as optimizing listings on the site itself.
Surviving Rocket Internet was a one-of-a-kind experience.
The startup, headquartered in London, operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur, with Asia accounting for half of its markets.
“Airbnb operations can become much more difficult when you have a full time job or out traveling a lot,” explains Lou, GuestReady’s co-founder. “Getting friends or family members to help out might not be as ideal as compared to a service that is dedicated to establishing a standard.”
GuestReady charges a commission for each booking it nabs on behalf of a guest. There are also separate fees for concierge services such as cleaning, laundry, and coordinating guest arrivals.
Photo credit: GuestReady.
Rocket alums
The startup, which launched in August, boasts a total of eight founders, six of whom held senior management roles at Rocket Internet prior to starting this venture. They have experience stemming from Foodpanda, Zalora, Kaymu, and Wimdu. That last one is Rocket’s Airbnb clone.
It was during Lou’s last role with Rocket that he identified this market opportunity on the back of Airbnb’s rise.
“Surviving Rocket Internet was surely a one-of-a-kind experience that not many get to experience; but as I grew within the experience, it’s hard to ignore that fundamentally there are still so many other ways to execute and leave impact,” he grins.
The team is backed by the Swiss Founders Fund, but Lou refrained from giving specific numbers. He does say that the global crew of ex-Rocket founders has put “credibility in front of both users and investors,” serving as “one of the best springboards the team could have asked for.”
Workers on-demand
GuestReady works with a team of freelancers that have existing hotel and hospitality experience. Lou says they’ve implemented standard operating procedures similar to those in hotels, and subject the freelancers to regular reviews and trial sessions.
GuestReady’s Lou Chan.
The startup’s focus for now is strengthening its brand by professionalised short-term rentals, but Lou explains the real challenge is to disrupt the rental market completely – even though the sector is dependent on government regulations which call for lengthy and cumbersome rental agreements.
There are ambitious plans for what comes next. Lou wants to have GuestReady branded homes scattered across cities, changing the paradigm of short-term rentals from the minimum of one year to a few weeks.
Regardless, Lou feels there’s significant demand in the region: Airbnb properties in Hong Kong have swelled by 59 percent in the past nine months, settling at a total of 6,500, by the startup’s own research.
“We definitely want our hosts and guests to feel we are there when they need us, and we are earnest about working closely with them,” adds Lou.
This post It just got far easier to manage an Airbnb rental appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/guestready-airbnb-rental
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