750% growth in one year: How Guesty helped Seven Living scale into a successful aparthotel hospitality brand

From Property Developers to Professional Hospitality Brand 

When Joshua Warburton and Charles London began renting out an apartment on Airbnb, they never imagined that one day the results would lead to them running a professional hospitality brand. 

It all started in 2018 when the friends bought one apartment in Birmingham, UK renovated it and then listed it on Airbnb. They were blown away by how often the apartment was consistently rented, and how quickly they were able to make a return on the investment.

After a few months, Josh and Charlie started managing a handful of properties for other homeowners. The business took off, and within a year, the company grew from one to thirty units. 

By the end of 2019, Josh and Charlie partnered with property investment firm Seven Capital to create Seven Living, a boutique property management company of newly built aparthotels for short, mid and long-term lets. Today, the company manages over 170+ units, predominantly in the midlands region of the UK.

The Challenge 

At first, Josh and Charlie were handling all operations themselves. They were communicating with guests, keeping track of bookings, and managing staff only through Airbnb. As their business grew, they knew that they couldn’t rely on “pen and paper” methods forever, but they didn’t know where to start.

After a friend recommended the pair check out Guesty, the pair quickly realized the benefits that a property management software (PMS) could offer them. In April 2019, after the first call with Guesty, they were sold.

The Solution

“Everything stood out to us about Guesty,” says Charlie, “But the automation tools were really a game-changer.” 

From the start, Seven Living relied on Guesty’s Automation Tools to perfect and streamline guest communication. Whereas before, they did not have the capacity or the staff to message each guest personally, Seven Living has now standardized their communication flow – from welcome greetings to check-in and check-out instructions. Auto Payments also help Seven Living better manage financial reporting.

In December 2019, Seven Living began utilizing Guesty’s Guest Communication Services which provides timely responses to guest inquiries 24/7, and the results were extraordinary. “I cannot describe the burden it relieved us of,” says Charlie, “Overnight, guest inquiries were being answered and all guests were being reassured, allowing us to focus on other aspects of our business.” 

Josh and Charlie also created a branded booking website to enable direct bookings and payments. “The website also serves as an important marketing tool for us,” adds Charlie, “It shows potential customers that we’re not just a pair of cowboys who don’t know what we’re doing.” 

The Results 

“Josh and I would not have been able to cope so long in the early days without Guesty. We wouldn’t have been able to survive, let alone onboard more properties, without it.” says Charlie.

Seven Living now manages 170+ units with Guesty,  – a 750% growth since the initial onboarding one year ago. By being able to connect directly to more booking channels in addition to Airbnb, Seven Living’s occupancy rates and revenue are increasing. They have also been able to expand to new cities, growing their presence from one region in the UK to ten.

“We genuinely would recommend Guesty without a doubt — we would 100% recommend it.”