Buying a House in Amsterdam (Expat Guide 2021)

The housing market in Amsterdam is crazy and buying a flat is extremely challenging. This is an article I’d have like to read when I started my journey. There will be many insights shared but no recommendations of specific services. No promotional bullshit.

Remote work and business opportunities in hospitality

Remote work is here to stay and it opens plenty of opportunities for hospitality. The hospitality industry has been very reactive when it comes to new trends which presents an opportunity for those capable of predicting the near future (not rocket science, actually). It's time to build 💪

Why Portuguese coastal municipalities should tax camper vans

Camper vans have always been tolerated by the local authorities even if it’s not legal to stay overnight on the beach. But it's no surprise that the current situation has escalated to the point that police have started to fine the campers.

The most common mistakes when starting a coliving business

Over the years I’ve made many mistakes, and that's why it’s easy for me to spot them now. Through listening to the stories of other coliving founders and observing their businesses, I thought it might be beneficial to write these mistakes down and share them here.

How to turn your existing hospitality business into a coliving space

The easiest way to start a coliving business is to pivot your existing hospitality business in that direction. You don't have to go all in. In fact, I actually don't recommend it.

Why should you start a coliving business?

Such a simple question but I had a hard time answering it myself when I started my coliving business. Over the years, I’ve noticed that very few new founders actually think about this before starting out.

How to choose the right location for your coliving space

When I first opened my coliving space, I had a very hard time deciding which location to choose. In the end, the final decision was Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and these were the main reasons:

Marketing and acquisition of coliving guests

Marketing and acquisition of coliving guests is usually the last thing new operators focus on when they’re getting started. Marketing tends to stay a low priority until operators realize that the rooms are empty. Often, they end up looking for magic (and fast!) solutions. Too late.

Profit margins, prices and unit economics of a coliving space

The more rooms you have, the more customers you can serve, the more money you can make. That's why you need to have a certain number of rooms to make the business work. ‍

Should you buy or rent your first coliving property?

In my opinion the decision to buy or rent attributes to about 80% of your success. Even if you do everything else perfectly, your business will suffer if you make a bad decision with renting or buying a property.‍

8 types of coliving properties and concepts

Coliving is just a concept. Many types of properties can be easily converted into a coliving space. You can convert a hotel, hostel, villa, or even a motel into a coliving space relatively easily.

The ultimate guide to starting a coliving business

I started a coliving business in 2013. We scaled it to 3 spaces in Spain, California, and Portugal. Then we pivoted, and changed the company into a completely different business (company retreats) while still keeping the brand.

9 tricks for vacation rentals to get more bookings in the low season

It’s one of the biggest headaches for property owners; getting bookings in mid and low seasons. I’ve been partly involved in the property business for a few years now, and these are just some of the tricks that I’ve learned along the way to boost bookings.

What is an ideal number of rooms to open a coliving space?

Starting small is the right way to build a brand but it's difficult to make a profitable business out of it. You need a certain number of rooms to make your unit economics work. In my experience, the minimum number of rooms to start is ideally 20 or more.

How can your independent hotel get more group bookings?

Almost all hotels want to attract groups but very few actually figure out how to do it. I’m going to share some tactics and knowledge I’ve learned over the years to get them in this article.

Building a marketplace for prefab houses using “no code” tools

In the past, when you wanted to build a web app or tool, coding skills were a necessity. Today, however, there are plenty of options available for those of us with more limited coding knowledge to find success.

How to organize a Coworking Day event

Being an organizer of a coworking day is a great opportunity to connect with the local community. I found it as a fantastic “hack” when you move to a new city and want to quickly create connections with like-minded people.

Gran Canaria for digital nomads and expats: The ultimate guide for Las Palmas

My first touch with Gran Canaria was about 10 years ago when I purchased a cheap Ryanair flight and escaped a cold, European winter for 10 days. Since then I fell in love with this beautiful island.

Building a coworking cabin

I never planned to build a cabin.‍‍‍ First, I wanted to rent one, then I wanted to buy one. ‍‍It was only with desperation after having no luck with these first two attempts, that I decided to build one.

Calculating Lisbon's tourism density score: how many tourists are too many?

But how do we define some locations on a map as touristy and others not? Can we measure the level of “touristy-ness”? What would be the formula? ‍

Survey: Where expats and digital nomads live in Lisbon

My goal was to create the best piece of information on the internet about Lisbon's neighbourhoods.

The rise of free coworking

Individuals don’t want to pay for a coworking desk.