A hotel room where you feel at home

As a senior business executive, Alexandros Chatzieleftheriou spent five years of his life travelling and staying in hotels. He reached a point where he got tired of the sterile hotel ambience and the related process. He thought there must be a better solution for expats like him, a place where he could enjoy his short stay and feel at home.
"I realised that even though there were hotels and serviced apartments available that are suitable for short stays, it is very difficult for an expat/business traveller to find a high quality furnished residential property for mid- to long-term duration. So, together with a group of friends, we launched Blueground to offer a differentiated and cost-advantageous accommodation solution," says Alexandros Chatzieleftheriou, CEO and co-founder of Blueground.
Blueground is an international hospitality technology company that provides accommodation for periods of one month or longer, with furnished and serviced units at 25 to 50 per cent lower pricing compared to hotels and serviced apartments.
Founded in 2013 in Athens, the hospitality company entered Istanbul and Dubai in 2016. Blueground has quickly grown its client portfolio and now serves more than 25 large companies in less than two years since its first financing round.
"To date, thousands of business travellers have stayed with us, while we have gained the trust of over 400 property owners, tripling our revenues in the last 12 months," says Chatzieleftheriou.
He says the environment, especially in Dubai, is competitive and more players are entering the market.
"We focus on corporate travellers and aspire to maintain high levels of professionalism across all our operations. We continuously invest in technology to drive efficiency and improve our customer service both to property owners and guests."
"We already have 56 units active in Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Downtown and DIFC, and are actively looking for properties on the Palm Jumeirah, Barsha Heights [formerly Tecom], the Greens and JLT. Our goal in Dubai is to reach 250 apartments by the end of the year and a total of 500 apartments within the next three years," he adds.
Chatzieleftheriou says that technology is an essential part of the company's DNA.
"Specifically, we have developed technology in-house which automates all aspects of our business, including online bookings, as guests can browse, book and pay for their properties online and 24/7 guest support through an app. Also, we are working on a dedicated tool for HR and travel representatives which will help them to browse and book candidate properties very easily," he explains.
Revealing his strategy, the CEO says that Blueground recently introduced a new service to property owners, allowing them to invest in the property's furnishing in return for a higher income.
"We just launched our guest mobile app. The app is now at a beta stage and we expect it to dramatically increase internal efficiency and our customer service levels. Finally, we will be launching in one more market over the next few months. We are excited about that," he adds.
According to the Global Business Travel Association, global business travel spending topped a record-breaking $1.2 trillion in 2015 and is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2020.
Consistent with its strategic direction of growing the number of tourists, Dubai has been quick to regulate the short-term and mid- and long-term rental market, allowing operators licensed under the DTCM to rent out residential properties.
"The serviced apartment market will continue to grow and we will see a lot of innovation which will be beneficial both to property owners and tenants. These new rental models will also help Dubai adapt its capacity during peak seasons, such as the Expo 2020," Chatzieleftheriou says.
Blueground raised $5.8 million in funding in March 2017, reaching the amount of $7.4 million in funding since it launched.
"Our current financing round allows us to become profitable in all our existing markets and support our growth plans for the next 24 months. At a future point in time, we may raise an additional round to support expansion to more locations," he says.
Apostolos Apostolakis, founder of Venturefriends, says the market that Blueground addresses is large and has significant growth potential. "The founding team is stellar and well-positioned to build, execute a successful plan and become a global leader," says Apostolakis.
Yorgos Kleivokiotis, head of marketing at Blueground, says: "Our innovative business model has shaken up the stagnant corporate hospitality market. Compared to traditional hotels, we use existing residential property supply, avoiding the lengthy and capital-intensive construction."
As a successful startup, Chatzieleftheriou urges young entrepreneurs to have faith in themselves and never give up.
"From our experience, the starting point should always be to identify a pressing need that requires a solution. After the need is defined, startups will need to experiment until they find aviable product and a business model that is scalable. Also, forming the right team is very crucial for a business to succeed. The key is to recruit people from different backgrounds, experiences, philosophies and talents. Finally, it is important to have faith in oneself and to never give up. Most successes do not come overnight. After that, it is mostly about hard work and focusing on delivery," he concludes.
- riaz@khaleejtimes.com