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This week we are interviewing Nakul Sharma, the CEO and founder of Hostmaker – the award-winning European property management company.
Nakul’s involvement with the homestay market began when he co-wrote a paper on Airbnb’s impact on the hotel industry – specifically, how the business could benefit hotels and how the two should work closely together in the future.
Nakul came up with an idea that would bring Hilton level quality to the homestay experience – something that could be enjoyed by all travellers – from couples to big groups.
Nakul and his wife, who as a pair were already an Airbnb ‘Superhost’, wanted to test the Hostmaker concept on their own home, to see if it was feasible. They consequently moved out of their home into a rented flat and used their house a test lab to experience for themselves the challenges that the 25,000 other Airbnb homeowners in London were facing.
Since its launch in 2014, Hostmaker has had tremendous year on year growth, now operating in nine international destinations to date, including London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona and Bangkok. Having raised $20million in funding, Nakul has diversified Hostmaker’s offering, launching their design arm At Home with Hostmaker, and their own home rental platform Stayy with Hostmaker, which allows guests to directly book into a Hostmaker managed company. And if that isn’t enough, he has also forged a partnership with Marriott to launch Tribute Portfolio Homes, an exclusive offering to Marriott guests to stay in beautifully curated Hostmaker home.