“We’re greater than the sum of our parts”: ALTIDO co-founder Tom Archer

Europe: ShortTermRentalz spoke to co-founder of the London Residents’ Club and ALTIDO, Tom Archer, about the merger of four companies to launch ALTIDO, heightening the guest experience and the brand’s growth ambitions for the future.

• What were your motivations for launching the ALTIDO brand? What will each company bring to this merger?

The merger to create ALTIDO came out of a firm belief that we are stronger together and greater than the sum of our parts. We have been working as a united group for almost six months, but the merger was only officially signed in early May. As a group of founders, we have come to know each other well and are now firm friends.

We have bonded over the fact that we all worked like dogs at the start of our businesses doing every job possible at any one stage. I think all of us have had the experience of being the sole housekeeper of the business! Each company brings something different to ALTIDO, whether it is in house tech, strong relationships with the OTAs, or a centralised operational team. We have a lot to learn from each other.

• What is your thinking behind having a centralised office in London as well as satellite offices in Lisbon, Milan, Edinburgh and Rome?

London makes sense as the base for ALTIDO as it’s the easiest place to travel to from the other offices and it’s obviously the best city in the world (I am slightly biased though!). We also have satellite offices already set up in Lisbon, Milan and Edinburgh as they were the HQs of each respective business before the merger.

• How do you intend to go about heightening the guest experience to ensure hotel-like services during a stay whilst keeping management costs down?

Since the inception of Airbnb and the subsequent boom in home-sharing, the single biggest issue is around the consistency of a home-share. One person’s quaint review of a flat in Chelsea is another’s unkept nightmare. It’s therefore key we match up the guest with the right space and the right amenities.
We are also working on some pretty neat tech with our new booking site that will cater for every type of guest staying with us. I can’t disclose too much at this stage but watch this space!

• How do you think you will be able to achieve your goal of doubling your inventory in the next 12 months?

There is a huge amount of growth to be had within our existing markets, but one of the key areas of growth we will be focusing on is the rent to rent model. We have already launched our first ALTIDO aparthotel in Edinburgh, and we will be launching many more over the coming months.

• We’ve seen the likes of Marriott launch their own rental platform while Airbnb is to operate hotel-like rental units at New York’s Rockefeller Suites: how will ALTIDO play its part amid the blurring of the lines between home-sharing private accommodations and traditional hotels?

I think we will continue to see those lines blur. As mentioned above we have already started diversifying our product line to include aparthotels and more traditional serviced apartments. Our London branch, ‘The London Residents Club’, was chosen as one of the first partners of Marriott’s new ‘Homes & Villas’ rental platform, and so it will be great to see that relationship grow throughout the ALTIDO portfolio.

• What do you think is the potential scalability of the ALTIDO brand?

ALTIDO will be one of the world’s biggest hospitality brands in the coming years. Our market has already started consolidating and we are in pole position to continue the consolidating of a fragmented market. We’re focusing first in Europe, but soon after that, the rest of the world!

You heard it here first!

For more information, visit the ALTIDO website here.