From happy accident to #1 Airbnb host: How Guesty enabled Mi Casa Es Tu Casa to scale excellence

What started as a happy accident in 2015 has become one of Mexico’s most successful property management companies. Daniel García had no experience in hospitality. He had to leave an apartment before his lease ended, and decided to Airbnb it, hoping to break even. As such, his journey into hospitality wasn’t planned; he stumbled into short-term rentals, and two things happened right off the bat: 

• García sensed a lucrative business opportunity 
• Hosting tourists rekindled his love of travel (without actually traveling) 

So, when the time was right he decided to leave his stressful job in the construction business, and to launch a new career that would better provide creativity, joy, and financial reward.

Setting foundations for growth

For seven years, García ran his growing business entirely manually — no platform, no automation, just hard work and dedication. Starting with that single apartment in Playa del Carmen, when he renewed his lease, he took on the entire six-unit building. And when opportunity knocked, he leased another building in Cancún.

By 2018, what began as a side hustle while working construction had grown to 30 employees managing 105 properties. Daniel had built something remarkable: a thriving business based on strong fundamentals like exceptional service, dedicated team members, and an instinct to never bite off more than he could chew.

The key to his early success was people-first principles that remain central to Mi Casa today:

• Team loyalty: his first cleaner and handyman are still with him 10 years later
• Balanced growth: growing organically through word-of-mouth, with little or no marketing
• Service excellence: Five-star service at great value
• Guest delight: Free early check-ins and late check-outs when possible, surprising guests with more than they bargained for

Managing 105 properties without a platform is a serious task. He often hopped between properties in Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum—all on the same day. But even more so, the logistics of managing the properties, the guest relations, and the service became out of control. Daniel realized he needed structural support to avoid the burnout he’d experienced in his previous career. 

• Financial reports were taking 15-20 days per month to complete
• Double bookings: conflicts between booking channels were happening on a daily basis
• Tedious operations: manual cleaning reports were requiring 3-4 hours daily
• Owner frustration: monthly reports for property owners were taking longer and longer

Daniel brought on a business partner who insisted it was time for a platform. After evaluating several solutions, they chose Guesty for three critical reasons:

1. Smooth API access for high customization capabilities
2. Seamless connectivity with a wide range of booking channels
3. Outstanding customer service suited for their Mexican business

Onboarding Guesty was relatively simple, without an existing system in place. Daniel’s new partner dedicated his time exclusively to customization and setup, and when everything was in place, they just switched Guesty on. The transition was seamless — no hiccups. But the impact was immediate and dramatic across all business units. Interestingly, since the Guesty implementation their revenue distribution started to change. Previously it was 80% Airbnb, 10% Booking.com, and 10% direct booking. Today it’s 45% Airbnb, 40% Booking.com, and 15% direct booking.

Operational excellence

• Reporting time: reduced from 15-20 days per month to two
• Cleaning reports: from 3-4 hours daily to “two clicks and less than two seconds”
• Double bookings: from a daily occurrence to zero

Guest experience revolution

• 70% of guest communication automated, with ReplyAI simplifying the rest
• Sub-10 minute problem resolution for guest issues
• Consistent 4.82 average rating across 16,700+ reviews in Airbnb alone, which is just 45% of our revenue distribution. Including Booking.com reviews, they have around 18,000 reviews in total.

Owner relations

• Instant reporting: monthly statements now generated immediately
• Owner independence: the Owners Portal eliminated constant phone calls
• Professional edge: enhanced credibility when acquiring new properties

One of the most meaningful enhancements is the fact that the Mi Casa team can now access data and address issues from their mobile app. They can fix issues on the move, anytime, anywhere with ease.

Early in his journey, Daniel dined at a restaurant where the wifi network password was “welovetips.” Today, the wifi password in each of Mi Casa’s ~160 properties is “welovegoodreviews.”

Another testament to the mindset of this unique business is early check-ins and late check-outs. Bucking the trend of turning friendly gestures into revenue streams, Mi Casa provides these services for free, when possible.

The entire business is run by a lean team of five leaders managing ~160 properties. Their achievement as the #1 Airbnb host globally proves that combining staying true to strong, personal business fundamentals and maintaining them at scale with powerful technology can deliver extraordinary results.

The company continues to grow organically, acquiring new owners through word of mouth. But mostly, they stay true to Daniel’s original vision: building a business that supports the life he wants to lead, not the other way around.

Ready to build your own success story? Discover how Guesty can provide the platform to scale your business fundamentals into extraordinary results.