How this Malaysian short-term rental business grew 3X in 5 months

Believing in the Solution They Provide

In 2018, Kim Chang and Kevin Tan had a vision: to help landlords and property investors maximize the value of their real estate. The duo first launched GuestReady Malaysia and after three years the company quickly became one of the largest short-term rental operators in the country. With a strong foothold in the vacation rental industry, the team went on to launch Hauzz in 2020.

Today, the company has 150 live listings spread across four states in Malaysia, and has recently expanded to three new cities with plans to add another 100 listings to their portfolio.

The Challenge

When starting the business, Hauzz was 50 units strong, and they knew that managing a long pipeline of properties and growing the business further required significant effort and resources they didn’t have. In order to scale quickly and profitably, Kim knew Hauzz needed a reliable property management system (PMS).  

The Solution

That’s when the duo turned to Guesty. Automation was a clear priority for Hauzz when choosing a PMS and something to differentiate them from competitors. “I think in Asia, especially Malaysia, the vacation rental industry is less digitized,” says Kim. Today, Guesty’s automated messaging workflows saves Hauzz over 40% on operational resources in terms of time and labor. 

In addition, Hauzz has been using Accounting by Guesty, specifically the Business Models feature which as they say “has been a game changer for us.” Business Models in Guesty help users set up financial agreements with owners, vendors and the property management companies themselves to automatically calculate the figures once you define how each fee is calculated and shared between your business, owners, and vendors. Since their portfolio is made up of property deals in the B2B space with developers and investment groups, calculation of fees and what metrics are involved such as revenues and profits are often different. “We have really been able to scale in this space, with the flexibility offered by Guesty’s Accounting suite to customize how we structure deals.”

The company also utilizes the smart lock partner integrations via Guesty’s Marketplace to ensure seamless check-ins and contact-free stays, incredibly relevant in the age of Covid-19.  “This has been a game changer,” says Kim, as Hauzz now has the ability to host guests while managing them purely online.

The Results

With Guesty, Hauzz has improved their day to day operations, allowing for quicker guest response times and lower operational resources, saving on hiring two full-time operational roles, as well as reaching a steady increase in occupancy rates, faster response times, and overall allowing them to improve their offerings. 

Kim estimates that Guesty helped Hauzz grow by 30-40% this past year and on average, saves the company almost  20 hours per week, allowing them to focus on business development and center their efforts on building relationships and maturing their management. 

Hauzz grew to over 100 properties in just 5 months amida pandemic and is only getting started. In Kim’s words: “I can say that with the support of a reliable PMS partner like Guesty, we have been able to scale knowing that we’ve got our backs covered.”

Hauzz is clearly prepared for the travel rebound and taking the necessary steps to position themselves for whatever lies ahead.