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Australia: Sydney-based, short-term rental property management company and online marketplace, Hometime, has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Alvan Aiau Yong into the newly created role of chief operations officer [COO].
The new COO will be responsible for overseeing the company’s 40-strong local host network and the acquisition of multiple at-scale short-term rental operators.
The appointment comes just two months after Hometime raised AU$10 million in a growth funding round, taking its total funding to date to more than $22 million.
Aiau Yong joins from logistics payment platform PayCargo, where he was the Asia-Pacific general manager tasked with leading its expansion into the region. Before PayCargo, he spent almost six years with Airbnb as supply lead for Australia and New Zealand, and was responsible for recruiting, onboarding and optimising hosts, enabling them to reach their goals and share their passion for hosting with the world.
In the new role with Hometime as COO, Aiau Yong will be instrumental in supporting its existing network of hyperlocal hosts who live, work and support tourism in their communities hosting Hometime’s guests, managing on-the-ground operations such as cleaning and maintenance, and representing the short-term rental industry.
Aiau Yong’s role will be multi-faceted in bringing the best Australian short-term rental operators into Hometime through acquisitions and ensuring the businesses build on their existing legacies in high-performing tourism markets.
Aiau Yong said: “When I first met Billy [Crock] and Dave [Thompson] [co-founders of Hometime] in 2018 at the Airbnb Sydney office, I remember saying to one of my colleagues that “Hometime would make a great investment”. They figured out how to scale the most operationally intensive part of short-term rental through technology, process and expertise.
“It was more impressive that they could maintain amazing quality across their properties – evidenced by great guest reviews across multiple platforms. So when the opportunity came up to be part of Hometime, the decision was easy,” he added.
Hometime co-founder, Billy Crock said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to welcome Alvan into the Hometime family. The feeling for us has always been mutual and to bring his depth of local market experience into our business is a pivotal moment that is fresh off the back of our successful $10 million cap raise earlier this year.
“It also signals the completion of building our executive leadership team, which over the last 18 months has seen us add seats in marketing, finance and HR. Hometime is on a market-leading growth trajectory and Alvan’s hire bolsters our efforts significantly,” he added.
Aiau Yong continued: “I’m also delighted to be back in the travel business and even more excited I get to work with a team I’ve admired for so long who are relentless at growth and quality without compromise. I have always remembered the Hometime crew’s dynamism, enthusiasm and sincerity. Hometime has always made me feel at home when I’m around them.
“I’m so honoured to support our journey to build and consolidate the short-term rental and property management industry of the highest quality,” he added.
