How Guesty helped Isrentals Kings’ Suites grow its multi-unit apartment inventory 600% in two years

From Digital Marketer to Aparthotel Property Manager 

Jacob Boukris was a successful email marketing manager for seven years before he dove headfirst into the world of short-term rental property management. 

It all started in 2015 when he launched a new, digital marketing campaign for a short-term rental website. He tested it on his own home and could not believe the huge demand he received in little to no time. Recognizing the profitability of short-term lets, Jacob began renting out his grandfather’s apartment in the center of Jerusalem, which was usually left empty unless occupied by family during the holidays. 

While working as a full-time property manager of that one listing, Jacob was handling everything from household cleaning and laundry to guest communication. When the apartment next door became vacant, Jacob saw an opportunity to expand his business. Isrentals Kings’ Suites was born, and he has not slowed down since. 

Today, Jacob manages 70 apartments in 3 multi-unit apartment residences (aparthotels) across Jerusalem.

The Challenge

Within five years, Isrentals Kings’ Suites experienced exponential growth, booming from Jacob’s original two listings into 70 apartments and multi-unit residences. 

Jacob found that as his business grew, he was spending most of his day on time-consuming and menial tasks. From cross-checking the availability of his properties across different OTAs, updating each aparthotels’ pricing based on supply and demand, determining the best minimum stay policies to implement – not to mention staying on top of guest communication – he simply could not do it all alone. 

The Solution

Jacob knew that if he wanted to take his company to the next level, he needed some help. After experimenting with a few property management software companies that ended up not suiting his needs, he turned to Guesty in 2018.

Guesty now helps Isrentals Kings’ Suites streamline and automate all of the complex operational needs that go into running multi-unit serviced aparthotels, whether it be staff management, issuing reports to homeowners, or handling guest check-in and check-out, the platform has Jacob covered.

The Results 

Since partnering with Guesty, Isrentals Kings’ Suites has grown from 10 to 70 listings – 600% growth in just two years. 

The biggest impact Guesty had was saving Jacob valuable time he was previously spending on repetitive tasks. In the past, it would take him hours per week sending guests check-in/check-out instructions, requesting positive reviews after a stay, or responding to regular (and frequent) guest inquiries. Guesty’s automation tools changed that – Jacob now uses automated messages to streamline almost all of his communication needs. 

Guesty also helps Jacob manage his listings’ pricing and availability across multiple platforms in one multi-calendar. Whereas he had previously listed his properties mainly on Airbnb and Booking.com, with Guesty he now works with a variety of OTAs and channel managers, increasing his visibility and occupancy. 

Overall, Jacob has used the time and money saved by working with Guesty to cultivate relationships with property owners, add more apartments and multi-unit residences to his inventory, and expand into new neighborhoods in Jerusalem.