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.
MUNICH – European serviced apartment operator, Limehome, has revealed that it has grown 40% 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Limehome is one of a growing band of hospitality companies using platforms that resist ever becoming out-of-date.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.
Over 1,000 new apartments in 2023: limehome grows by almost 40 percent in first half of the year
limehome has expanded its portfolio by more than 1,000 apartments to 4,500 in the first half of 2023. With 400 new apartments in the first quarter alone, the year was already off to a good start for the serviced apartment provider. Now, the hyper growth company has increased its growth by another 600 apartments in the second quarter. The company will thus reach its expansion target of 5,000 limehome apartments by the end of the year earlier than planned and is revising the target upwards to 5,500 units.
The majority of new units are being built in Germany: 703 of the total of over 1,000 new units are located there. In addition to major cities such as Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, limehome is also increasing its presence in medium-sized and smaller cities. New properties with up to 74 units are being built in Braunschweig, Kiel and Gelsenkirchen, cities with a population of around 250,000.
Thanks to its digital business model, limehome is quickly profitable even in small cities. In the 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants category, limehome signed contracts for new properties in Kaiserslautern, Hof and Göppingen.
With the Balgequartier in Bremen, limehome also won a significant mixed-use concept for its portfolio in the first half of this year.
The total number of limehome apartments in Germany is thus currently just under 3,000 at 71 locations.
Exceptionally high growth rate in the Iberian market
The hospitality tech company is experiencing particularly rapid growth in the Iberian market. In Spain and Portugal, limehome now has over 1,000 apartments.
In Madrid, the portfolio is growing by 116 apartments to a total of 240 units. This makes Madrid limehome’s second largest city in the portfolio after Berlin. One of the newest properties is centrally located in the area of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home to the successful Real Madrid soccer club. The new digital apartments are expected to be available to guests from the second quarter of 2024.
In addition to expanding its presence in existing areas, limehome is continuously developing in new areas. This year, for example, limehome secured its first location in northern Spain.
21 new digital apartments are being built in the pilgrimage town of Santiago de Compostela, which is best known for its cathedral as a destination for hikers on the Way of St. James.
In Portugal, limehome has already signed over 110 new units this year, further expanding its offering in the major cities of Lisbon and Porto. Further expansion on the Iberian peninsula is taking place in vacation areas such as the Algarve.
Josef Vollmayr, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Limehome, said: “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.”
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.
Florian Montag, VP of Business Development at Apaleo, commented: “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.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
