HiGuests announces funding and expansion progress in Barcelona

Dubai: Property management startup HiGuests has announced it has secured $1.1 million in its latest investment round, with participation by Spanish real estate firm Forcadell. 

The company, which was founded in 2016 by Spanish entrepreneurs Miquel Manzanas and Oriol Plana, operates and manages properties on behalf of their owners on a short-term rental basis. Through its booking platform, HiGuests carries out tasks such as listing properties on established booking platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, HomeAway and Expedia, and assisting guests following all of the required check-in procedures.

HiGuests operates its properties by arranging essential cleaning services and adding key amenities for guests, in return for giving them a cut from the rental income. The startup says it takes 20 per cent cut from net rental income of the properties it manages for its services.

In light of the latest injection of funding, HiGuests has expanded into Barcelona, taking the number of properties it manages as short- and long-term rentals to over 300 in destinations ranging from Dubai and Goa to Mumbai, as well as the former. The short-term rentals can be rented for anything between one month and a year. 

Furthermore, HiGuests has developed multiple mobile applications for hosts and guests alike, as well as a property management system that allows property owners to analyse how well their properties are performing each day. The firm employs smart security locks on its properties, which can be unlocked by guests through their phone.

Competitors in the Dubai market such as GuestReady and Maison Privee have also announced injections of capital into their businesses since the turn of the year as they look to develop their expansion plans further.  

For more information, visit the HiGuests website here.