Spotahome is modernizing the real estate industry in Europe

Alejandro Artacho, the CEO and Co-Founder of Spotahome, created his company to streamline and digitize the renting process

Everyone knows there is plenty of money to be made in the world of real estate – so much so that investing in bricks and mortar has gone from being a sensible financial decision to something of a cliché. Still, just because the potential exists for property to yield high returns doesn’t mean that making money in the real estate sector is easy – it’s a competitive field, and everyone wants their slice of the pie.

Anyone looking to turn a profit by selling their property should be prepared to share the proceeds with estate agents, surveyors, removal firms, the taxman and a multitude of others. It is no surprise, therefore, that many property owners choose to rent out their premises instead. But even this approach comes with its fair share of administrative hassle – or it did, until recently.

Spotahome, the brainchild of CEO and Co-Founder Alejandro Artacho, aims to reinvent real estate by making the rental process easier for both landlords and tenants. Launched in Madrid in 2014, the start-up has grown rapidly by championing innovation, reliability and, most of all, simplicity. Consisting of a 100 percent online booking platform for non-vacation rentals, Spotahome offers a broad selection of apartments, studios, student digs and other residences that give individuals the freedom to learn, love and live wherever they choose.

Artacho himself has been instrumental in getting the company to where it is today. Drawing on his own personal experiences of renting property abroad, the Spanish entrepreneur has bootstrapped, borrowed and canvassed investment from around the world. His efforts have transformed Spotahome from a promising idea into a multimillion-euro business that hosts properties across 10 European cities. Despite his success so far, Artacho is not slowing down – not until he has achieved his goal of making renting as fast and simple as getting a coffee.

Home truths

The onward march of globalisation in recent years has meant that working in a foreign country is easier than ever. Digital nomads can write, code, sell, teach and offer a host of other services from any location they choose. Living abroad, however, still comes with a number of challenges, as Artacho himself discovered while living in China between 2009 and 2013.

The Spotahome CEO’s time in Asia revealed just how complicated the rental process can be for individuals who are unfamiliar with the process and struggle to overcome a serious language barrier. Upon his return to Europe, Artacho, who was working in the real estate sector in both Lisbon and London, discovered that such inefficiencies could be found everywhere. That’s when the idea for Spotahome began to take hold.

Read more here

Join us in Madrid, November 12-15 for the Global Online Marketplaces Summit.