Source: Limehome.com

European serviced apartment operator, Limehome, has revealed that it has grown 400% over the past two years, partly crediting its futuristic approach to its property management software.

Limehome is one of a growing band of hospitality companies using platforms that resist ever becoming out-of-date. Their so-called ‘composable hospitality’ allows operators to bolt together off-the shelf tools and add those that they develop themselves in-house. It’s the most powerful way to build a PMS and technology ecosystem that is bespoke, affordable and scalable.

This has allowed Limehome to create a unique and staffless guest experience, and onboard new properties at speeds previously unheard of (less than 24 hours), helping the business achieve a fivefold increase in both revenue and the size of its portfolio over the past two years. It forecasts a 60% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the next five years and boasts an average occupancy rate of 90%, compared to the market average of 80%.

Limehome built its fully digital guest journey, which saves the business around $200 per unit per month, on the API-led open hospitality platform, Apaleo. While traditional property management systems (PMS) do have integrations, Limehome needed a platform that would allow it to replace tools that relied on human interaction with its own staffless alternatives. Leveraging Apaleo, it created a seamless digital guest journey from booking to check-out, integrating the reservation and payment solutions of Apaleo with a constellation of proprietary solutions and best-of-breed third-party apps.

Apaleo has formed the foundation of Limehome’s overall PMS ever since the company was founded in 2018. The flexibility that this permits is what has enabled Limehome to achieve unprecedented levels of customization and efficiency, enabling its staffless business model to thrive.

One of the most important functions Limehome has been able to develop on top of Apaleo is its machine-learning yield management solution. This tool optimises margins on every booking, dynamically adjusting rates millions of times a day in response to demand, local competitors, and seasonal trends. As a result, Limehome operates with only one revenue manager across 100 locations, something most hospitality companies would find impossible. While its competitors change prices around 200 times a day — Limehome adjusts prices approximately 10 million times in the same period.

Apaleo is a construction kit that we use to complement our own technology. It allows us to operate the way we operate, and without it we could not grow at this pace. In a typical stay, traditional hotels might have up to ten manual interactions with every reservation. It’s the trivial things that hurt the bottom line. Guests ask for an invoice, the check-in and check-out times, an upgrade or an extension of the stay. This may not be inconvenient for the guest, but for the hotel these interactions are very labour-intensive, time consuming and ultimately costly. We need all these things to be integrated into our technology. Without the flexibility that Apaleo allows, hiring for 120 locations would be a nightmare for us. By building on top of Apaleo, we don’t have to do that. Josef Vollmayr, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Limehome

As the hospitality industry evolves and guests seek personalised experiences and spacious accommodation, innovative brands like Limehome are gaining prominence. But a lack of flexible property management technology has hindered the realisation of many of the most creative concepts.

Apaleo is the only MACH-based platform that focuses on core property management modules, enabling hospitality providers to design bespoke technology stacks, often incorporating proprietary software. By embracing these innovations in the technology space, Limehome exemplifies the future of hospitality, enabling 100% self-serviced guest journeys, increased guest satisfaction and both operation and financial efficiency for hospitality businesses.

Limehome are trailblazers when it comes to the future of property management. It never even dawned on them to use a traditional solution because they are so focused on the end product. The guest experience has come first at all times and this is exactly what we expect from all hospitality operators in the future. All hospitality providers will have CTOs and their roles will become some of the most important to these businesses as they curate future-proof ecosystems of software capable of consistently delivering for their brands. Florian Montag, VP of Business Development at Apaleo

About Apaleo

Apaleo is the open property management platform for hotel and serviced apartment groups, empowering accommodation providers to create the ultimate digital experience for guests and staff. The API-first property management platform powers brands across more than 24 countries, disrupting the nature of hospitality software with the transition from single-vendor suites to best-of-breed technology. Customers include Numa, Limehome citizenM, Mollie's, Vagabond Club, Raus and more. For more information, visit apaleo.com.

Harriet Elliott
PR Manager