Guest-Ready, an international company specializing in managing local accommodation that arrived in Portugal in 2018, is preparing to expand its operation to the Azores starting in April. The company intends to operate 50 properties by the end of the year and 200 by 2026. In this interview, Rui Silva, managing director of Guest-Ready Portugal, explains the reasons for the expansion into the Azorean market. He says, “Local Accommodation management is still in a very embryonic stage (…), and we want to demonstrate that the professional segment of this sector can be implemented in the Azores”.

Guest Ready has been in Portugal since 2018, entered Madeira in 2022, and decided to expand to the Azores this year. Why now?

Rui Silva (General Manager of Guest-Ready Portugal) – I founded ‘The Porto Concierge’ in 2014, which only operated in Porto. We solidified our presence in the local market. Then, we merged with Guest Ready, making me a director of the company in Portugal and one of its shareholders.

As a director, my main strategy was consolidating the markets that Guest-Ready was already managing when I joined, namely Porto and Lisbon. We then began to consider expansion, and as we already had some partners in Funchal, we decided to move forward with our presence in Madeira.

At this point, we saw the opportunity to continue growing—our processes are much more solid. With the local partners we have established in Funchal, we realized that the strategy of expanding to the archipelagos was viable as we can ensure our quality even remotely, and now we have decided to move forward.

The Azores have always been one of our goals, or at least one of my goals because I love the region so much. And since our processes are much better structured, this is undoubtedly the ideal time for us to expand.

What specific opportunities did you see in the Azorean market? Will the operation be focused only on São Miguel, or are there plans for other islands?

The Azorean market is growing in the Local Accommodation sector, and we believe it has great potential for development over the next two years. We’ve noticed a growth trend in this segment over the last six months.

We believe that over the next two years, the market will consolidate even further, grow, and become much more qualitative. At the moment, it’s still in its infancy, and owners are still trying to understand how it works. In this sense, we want to clearly demonstrate that the professional segment of this sector can be implemented in Ponta Delgada, in São Miguel, at least for the time being. Later, we plan to expand to Terceira as well.

Do you already have a start date? How many properties do you want to manage?

Our main target date is April 1st. There may be delays, but it will never be much longer than that.

We plan to have 200 properties by the end of 2026 and 50 by the end of this year. We hope to have 30 by August so that we can start to create our structure, define the size of the warehouse we need, the location of the office, and the type of team we want to have, and decide whether to use more partners or hire more people internally. All of this requires some time to properly plan what we will need.

How big should the team be for an operation with 200 accommodations?

For an operation of 200 properties, we need between 40 and 60 people.

Who will lead Guest Ready’s operations in the Azores?

We’re still preparing for the operation. Initially, a team from Porto will go to the Azores, but the idea is to build our team with locals. We’ll have strategic partners and possible maintenance teams, as well as our own coordination team.

What kind of accommodation will you be managing?

Our idea is to maintain Guest Ready’s standards. All the properties we manage must have at least five essential characteristics: good air conditioning, good soundproofing, a good night’s sleep, good Wi-Fi, and good television. This is because we don’t just plan properties for tourists but also for digital nomads or guests who might want to stay for longer periods of time.

What’s more, we’ll manage different types of properties, from small studios in the city center to villas in more remote locations that allow for other types of stays. Of course, the service varies according to the type of property, and we work with various segments as long as we ensure the necessary conditions to provide the best experience for our guests.

How does the relationship between Guest Ready and the owners work? What steps do you follow from the initial contact to managing the property?

We see the owners as partners: they provide us with the space, and we indicate the necessary conditions to make it profitable. We aim for the owners to have no worries whatsoever because we take care of everything for them. For example, if any maintenance is needed, we’ll take care of it, or if the property needs decorating, we’ll adjust it to Guest Ready’s standards. During management, we take care of the whole process, from cleaning and placing advertisements to communicating with guests.

We offer a ‘turnkey’ service, where the owner only needs to access the platform to monitor the profitability and performance of their property.

How do you differentiate yourself from the Local Accommodation management competition in the Azores?

What sets us apart right from the start is our long experience in this area and the conditions and experiences we offer our guests. In addition, our technology is a differentiating factor in that we allow the whole process to be managed by us. Payments, for example, are always made on time via our platform without the use of third-party applications. This facilitates integration, improves efficiency, and provides greater transparency for guests and owners. Another key aspect is our 24/7 support service, which in our case is a great asset that is not always possible for smaller companies.

What are the main challenges you expect to encounter in this market?

Starting out in a new market is always a big challenge, with inevitable obstacles. We have studied the local reality in depth, but we know there will be surprises and that not everything will go exactly as planned. The studies and analyses we have carried out on the region are essential, but implementing them in practice is not always straightforward.

Starting out in a new market is always a big challenge, and some obstacles are always to be expected. Even though we study the reality of each location, we know that there will always be surprises and that not everything will go exactly as planned.

The studies and analyses we have carried out on the region are essential, but implementing them in practice is not always easy. This is precisely why we want to send a team of our own at an early stage. For us, getting to know people and creating a strong team is crucial because we don’t want to keep anyone who isn’t aligned with our company’s values – team cohesion is an essential aspect. Building this structure will undoubtedly be our biggest challenge, and we know it will take some time before we have a solid team.

Another major challenge will be marketing and brand recognition in the region. It’s very different to operate in a market where we’ve been established for seven or eight years, where our vans circulate daily and where the brand is recognized than to start in a new location, where the management of local accommodation is still often seen as an amateur activity and based on a direct relationship between owners and guests.

Our success is based on experience accumulated over the years, with processes already tested in other markets. However, each new region brings challenges, and we are always looking to improve and adapt.

What expectations does Guest-Ready have for the Azores?

We’re hoping to start meeting our clients and showing the quality of our service at the moment. Obviously, the aim is to end this year with at least 50 units so that next year, we can reach 200 units.

We know we’ll have some challenges, but we’re also sure that once people start to understand the quality of our service, growth will happen naturally.

Daniela Canha is a journalist for Correio dos Açores newspaper-Natalino Viveiros, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.