400% growth in one year: How this powerhouse entrepreneur turned a side-gig into an enterprise

From Side-Gig to Enterprise

For Katy Bertodatto, real estate was a passion long before it became a viable career option. After divorcing, Katy began attending college full-time, supporting herself and her two sons by working the night shift at a local bar and renting out the upper floor of their Victorian home in Northern Michigan. Shortly after, she was asked to manage a friend’s townhouse condo, helping Katy earn Superhost status and attract yet another property owner who hired her for her management expertise. 

The business turned from side-gig to full-on professional property management when Katy convinced the developer of a 16-unit project to hang on to the property rather than sell each individual condo. Once she showed him how much more profit his assets could generate as short-term rentals, he handed the reins to Katy and Golden Swan Management was born.  

The Challenge

With more listings under its care, Golden Swan needed to find an efficient means of promoting its inventory on multiple distribution channels. On the company’s search for a quality property management software, the company test drove platforms with sub par user experience and poor customer service.

The Solution

In Guesty, Katy found the combination she was looking for – a reliable software with a dedicated team behind it. She was impressed with the initial demo and channel integrations, and most importantly, found the customer service and commitment to the customer success she had been looking for. 

The Results

Since implementing Guesty, Katy has found the time and resources necessary to focus on business development and scaling. As a result, she’s doubled her inventory, skillfully growing the company portfolio to over 40 listings, including condos, waterfront cottages, studios and multi-units as well as more unique properties like a farmhouse and a cottage on a five-acre apple orchard.  

While she has curated a small, talented team of eight experienced personnel, she appreciates that Guesty’s ease of use has simplified the process of onboarding new staff and that the efficiency of the platform has saved her from needing to hire an additional five full-time employees as operational needs increased alongside inventory expansion. 

“It was like cloning myself, and I’m kind of a badass.”

With a means of seamlessly distributing listings on multiple booking websites, the Golden Swan team not only saves on manpower and countless hours per week, they also reach more guests; Katy attributes the company’s over 100% revenue increase to the adoption of Guesty into her business. 

Also fueling bookings has been the company’s boost in positive reviews since turning to Guesty’s communication tools, especially with the influx of guest inquiries throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Auto-Messages and Saved Replies have been crucial in providing prompt responses to commonly asked questions. 

After accounting for Golden Swan’s ability to scale, reach wider audiences and improve performance, Katy reports 400% growth overall in the last year. With so much accomplished in so little time, there’s no doubt Golden Swan Management is headed for much continued success.