Affitti Brevi Italia: Scaling a national network with a PMS built for speed, compliance, and growth

Affitti Brevi Italia began in 2015 as a traditional real estate agency in Lecco. What started as an experiment during the Milan Expo — renting a few apartments for short stays — quickly revealed a new market opportunity. Demand surged, partners joined, and the company evolved into a national network supporting hundreds of property managers across Italy.

Over the years, Affitti Brevi Italia became known for its structured operating model, deep training infrastructure, and a growing network of ABI Points (company-owned branches). But the PMS powering the business struggled to keep pace.

For nearly six years, the company relied on Avantio, and before that on Kross Booking. As their portfolio grew and regulatory requirements intensified, these systems became a barrier to scale.

Avantio’s challenges became impossible to ignore:

• Frequent technical issues
• Slow or incomplete Italian compliance support, especially on the accounting side
• Unreliable API behavior that stalled integrations and revenue management
• Disjointed workflows that required numerous external apps
• Poor OTA connectivity, especially with Booking.com
• Limited access to technical specialists, even for a company of their size

These issues didn’t just slow the team down — they made expansion into new markets risky. Affitti Brevi Italia needed a partner with speed, stability, and compliance in its DNA.

The team evaluated multiple PMSs, including repeating conversations with platforms they had assessed in previous years. This time, Guesty stood out immediately.

Guesty offered what Avantio could not:

Fast development and robust Italian-market readiness.

When Affitti Brevi Italia first evaluated Guesty, the platform didn’t yet have features such as the Italian police department reporting connection. But within one month, Guesty delivered it.

This speed became a decisive factor.

A stronger technology core

Guesty offered reliable API performance, powerful OTA integrations, and a much cleaner connection with their revenue management system. This meant:

• Faster syncing
• Smoother listing creation
• Greater confidence in pricing updates
• Fewer workarounds

One upgrade made an immediate impact: a new listing created in Guesty synced to Booking.com in three minutes. Under Avantio, this could take as much as two days.

A centralized, connected ecosystem

Where Avantio required multiple external apps for communication, check-ins, guest verification, and registration, Guesty unified these processes inside one platform. This significantly reduced operational costs and errors.

And automation tools — especially around guest messaging, online check-in, and city tax payments — immediately improved responsiveness and team efficiency.

Migrating 800 listings is never simple, but the Affitti Brevi Italia team describes the process as “far easier than expected.”

Guesty’s onboarding stood out:

• Daily contact with dedicated onboarding specialists
• Clear weekly milestones and positive accountability
• Rapid configuration support, including bulk changes for sub-accounts
• Specialist guidance for website setup, partners, and Italian compliance

The phased rollout for direct management first, and partners second, ensured consistency for a business that doubles as both an operator and a service provider for other PMCs.

Guesty is already reshaping how Affitti Brevi Italia works:

1. OTA connectivity that saves hours every week

Instant syncing to Booking.com and Airbnb replaced time-consuming dual entry and long waits for listing updates.

2. Centralized communication that prevents missed messages

Guesty’s unified inbox resolved one of their biggest coordination issues: lost or invisible guest messages under Avantio.

3. Automation that improves guest experience and cash flow

Automated messaging created more reliable check-ins, smoother registration, and faster processing of required city tax payments.

4. A platform complete enough to replace most external apps

With Guesty handling check-ins, document registration, communication, and operations, the team can centralize basically everything.

Affitti Brevi Italia now has the infrastructure to:

• Scale into more Italian cities
• Onboard new partners more confidently
• Present a stronger brand to prospects
• Compete in a highly fragmented national market

And Guesty isn’t just a tool — it’s becoming part of their value proposition.

The company’s long-term vision is clear: consolidate a fragmented market, open new ABI Points, and become the operational backbone for Italy’s next generation of property managers.