Guesty > Case Studies > South African Property Management Company Leverages Guesty to Optimize Airbnb Listings

South African Property Management Company Leverages Guesty to Optimize Airbnb Listings

Technology Category

Networks & Connectivity - 5G
Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Cement

Applicable Functions

Facility Management
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Building Automation & Control
Inventory Management

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

Home From Home is a serviced apartments property management company based in South Africa. The company was founded by Charles Bloem in response to the demand for alternative accommodation options during the 2010 World Cup. Home From Home offers rentals in Cape Town and several other locations across South Africa. The company's model is similar to hotels, and they initially used a hotel management software to facilitate their operations and process reservations from major channels. However, they wanted to expand into the Airbnb market and needed a solution that could handle the unique demands of managing short-term rental listings.

The Challenge

Home From Home, a South African property management company, was facing a significant challenge in managing their rapidly growing number of listings. The company had grown from 20 to 450 listings in a few years, with as many as 100 listings in one building. They were using a hotel management software to facilitate their operations and process reservations from major channels like Booking.com, Agoda, and Expedia. However, they wanted to tap into the Airbnb market, which was gaining significant momentum. Their existing hotel management software could not support Airbnb, a channel exclusively for short-term rentals. This meant that every time a reservation came in, they had to manually update both their Airbnb calendar and the calendar on their management software to avoid double bookings. With an annual occupancy rate of 80% and more than 90,000 reservations a year, this was a time-consuming and error-prone process, leading to multiple double bookings and lost time in crisis management.

The Solution

Home From Home turned to Guesty, a property management software that could automatically sync their bookings across all their channels, including Airbnb. Guesty’s Unified Inbox and auto-messaging tools allowed them to answer all guest inquiries from a single platform and automate communication, significantly improving their guests’ experience and boosting engagement. They also started using the Owners Portal, which provided their clients with all relevant information about their properties and allowed them to make reservations. Guesty also enabled them to group similar units in the same building and market them collectively as a “room type” rather than unique listings. The Multi-Calendar feature allowed them to automatically sync all of their reservations, saving them hours per day and preventing accidental double bookings.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Guesty has significantly improved Home From Home's operations. The company has been able to automate and streamline their booking management process, saving them several hours daily and reducing the risk of double bookings. The Unified Inbox and auto-messaging tools have enhanced their communication with guests, leading to improved guest experience and engagement. The Owners Portal has made it easier for their clients to access information about their properties and make reservations. The ability to group similar units and market them as a 'room type' has also made their listing process more efficient. Overall, Guesty has enabled Home From Home to effectively tap into the Airbnb market and significantly increase their revenue.

Quantitative Benefit

Reduced time spent on managing bookings by several hours daily
Increased earnings from Airbnb to comprise between 20-25% of their entire income
Earned more on Airbnb in the first three months of 2019 than in the entire preceding year