Scaling Short-Term Rentals: From One Room to 20+ Properties

In this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we chat with Waigwa Gatamu, an Airbnb Superhost and the founder of Host My Nest, which offers comprehensive property management services for short-term rentals in the UK. Waigwa manages 20 properties and uses Hospitable to streamline operations and save time (he is our Mogul plan customer).

In the episode, Waigwa shares how he became a short-term rental host, why he decided to start managing properties for other people, how he scaled his business in just one year, and how his business processes have evolved since going from one room to 20 STR properties.

Press Play now to learn more about Waigwa’s short-term rental journey, challenges he met along the way, and strategies that help him succeed.

Do you prefer to read the highlights? We’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.

Becoming a Short-Term Rental Host

Waigwa says that his short-term rental journey started in 2012. He worked as a software engineer and rented a two-bedroom flat in London. Since the rent was high and the income he earned as a junior developer was insufficient, Waigwa began searching for ways to earn extra money to cover the rent.

He listed one of his bedrooms on Airbnb, and within two days, he got his first booking. “And that one bedroom that I was renting on Airbnb was essentially enough to pay my rent and also have a bit more to pay other utility bills.”

Later, as he progressed in his career as a software engineer, Waigwa began investing in properties. He put them on Airbnb to get additional income. 

Starting a Property Management Business

In 2024, Waiga decided to launch a property management business. “I thought, why not start helping landlords or property owners who have a second property, or who want to rent out their current property on Airbnb? I noticed a high demand, and I approached a few landlords, convincing them that I would be the right fit. I’ll be able to provide you with additional income, or even much better than long-term rentals.”

Currently, Waigwa manages about 20 STR properties. “When I first started this business, it was my wife and I,” he reveals.  

“It was challenging because we were essentially wearing a lot of hats. At one point, we also handled the cleaning ourselves, but as we grew and learned, we began partnering with other contractors, such as cleaners and maintenance personnel. So right now, we've got a good, trusted network.”

How Host My Nest’s Business Has Evolved

At first, they didn’t use any property management software, so they manually managed listings on Airbnb and Booking.com, and syncing calendars across booking channels was a tedious process. Then, they started using Hospitable, which helped streamline their processes with automation. As a result, they have more time to focus on growing their properties and the services that they provide for owners.

“I think we're at a point now that we've evolved. VAs are currently communicating with guests. We also currently have a revenue manager who prices all our properties using the pricing tools, as well as someone who optimizes the listings. It's been almost a year since we started this business, but I think we've evolved now that we're growing as a team, and that's something that I’m looking forward to.”

Waigwa says they are looking to scale their business and add complementary services for property owners, like listing optimization and revenue management. “We want to be the go-to partner for landlords and investors who want to maximize returns from short-term rentals without any hassle. They can just reach out to us, and we'll be able to cater to that.”

What Waigwa Likes about Hospitable

Waigwa says they started using Hospitable last year. “One of the things that stood out to me the most is the simple user interface. Compared to others that I've used in the past, I think Hospitable is very easy to use. It’s very self-explanatory. And then I think one of the most important features that was added not too long ago is the Owner Statements,” he points out.

Previously, they were using Excel sheets—a tedious, manual process. Waigwa thinks that Hospitable’s Owner Statements are a nice feature because they are now generated automatically and can be published to share with property owners.

Waigwa also likes Hospitable’s AI-powered guest communication. “I can simply click the ‘Suggest with AI,’ and it will generate the message instead of me typing and replying to the guest,” he notes.

Challenges of Running a Property Management Business

Waigwa says he enjoys hosting. “There's a real sense of satisfaction in turning around our space and seeing positive guest feedback coming in,” he explains. “At the end of the day, this business is kind of relying on guest reviews.”

He also notes that running a property management business is challenging because property owners always have high expectations. “They always believe that with short-term rentals, you can always make revenue very quickly. So we’re just trying to meet those expectations with the owners and making sure that the service that we deliver is one that they should trust us with.”

Still, Waigwa underlines that achieving success with short-term rentals is a long-term strategy that involves hard work.

Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to discover how Waigwa turned his passion for hosting into a full-time property management business.