A VC-backed Airbnb management services company has ambitions to double the number of European markets it operates in ahead of a fresh injection of funding.
Nakul Sharma quit a high-profile job as director with the InterContinental Hotels Group in London to launch Hostmaker in July 2014.
Three years and around 拢7.5 million of venture capital funding later, Hostmaker is now London鈥檚 number one Airbnb management company and the largest VC-backed homestay hospitality management team in Europe.
Starting out with 拢50,000 of his own money and no entrepreneurial experience, Sharma sought to create a business that would essentially bring 鈥楬ilton-level quality鈥� to the homestay experience by supporting Airbnb 鈥榟osts鈥� in a number of areas.
In a nutshell, the company鈥檚 full-service offering covers everything from photography and writing the Airbnb listing to supporting the hosts with pricing and marketing.
鈥淲e walk a fine line between providing a few nice elements of a hotel experience that travellers appreciate while making sure that the unique home experience and identity of the home isn鈥檛 lost,鈥� Sharma told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淔or instance, we always welcome guests in person which provides a personal experience and also ensures a level of security and safety for the hosts.鈥�
Hostmaker currently operates in London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona and employs a workforce of 150 full-time and part-time staff.
鈥淲e would be aiming to easily double the number of markets in the next six to 12 months and those will mainly be larger cities in Europe,鈥� Sharma said, adding that the company may potentially expand to other UK cities as well.
鈥淲e鈥檝e grown in confidence this year in our four markets and our customers have appreciated what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
According to Sharma, technology plays an important role in how Hostmaker delivers the hotel experience and how it ensures that operations run efficiently.
Thanks to in-house tech, the company has access to pricing trends and fluctuations across the tens of thousands of homes, ensuring that each home is priced competitively.
鈥淲e also have our own algorithms that take into account seasonality or local events which may have an effect on pricing, which are then analysed by our in-house pricing team.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one example where we are investing in tech to deliver more efficient pricing outcomes.鈥�
Sharma has also outlined plans to possibly further enhance the guest experience with the development of a new app, which would provide travellers with useful insights about the home and the local area.