Listen to this articleMetroButler is New York based company that offers a full concierge and property management service to those who are willing to rent their apartment but do not have the time, know-how, or security measures to do so properly. MetroButler is trying to take all the stress and work away from the rental process by offering a full service option. Below is our interview with MetroButler’s CEO and Co-Founder Matt Lerner:
Q: How did MetroButler get its start?
A: My co-founders and I noticed that despite the popularity, ingenuity, and simplicity of Airbnb and similar short-term rental sites, there were only about 20,000-30,000 active listings in NYC at any given time. This seemed odd to us considering NYC has around 3 Million apartments and homes. We did a few months of field research and found that the most popular reasons people gave for not renting their home on Airbnb were (a) not having the time to manage the property listing, booking requests, key drops, and ongoing guest communication and (b) being afraid that something bad would happen to their home in their absence. We saw this as an opportunity to enter the short-term rental space by offering a full concierge and property management service for those who wanted to take advantage of the sharing economy but did not have the time, know-how, or security measures to do so properly.
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Q: What makes MetroButler the best choice for Airbnb hosts in NYC?
A: We take a very personal touch to how we deal with every client’s need. I like to believe we treat everyone’s apartment like it is our own. We understand that deciding to have a stranger stay in your home can be a tough decision to make and we take the responsibility of managing that process very personally.
On top of that, we are a full service option. Most of our competitors have a la carte services which are limited in scope whereas we take all the stress and work away from the rental process. It takes a lot of time and effort to be a successful Airbnb host and we provide the resources, tools, and know-how to do it at the highest possible level.
Q: Who’s your ideal client?
A: I wouldn’t say we have an “ideal client” since we work with a wide range of people that use our services for different reasons. We have consultants who travel frequently for work, jet-setters who enjoy vacationing often, and people who need to relocate or wish to break their lease. All of them make for great clients.
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That said, I do think our services fit perfectly for the typical business or leisure traveler. If your job takes you out of town for a week or more a month, the home you live in becomes a wasted financial asset that could be utilized to generate revenue. That’s where we come in. By recouping “lost rent” through home rental, we are able to help our clients monetize their home anytime they are away. Our services are meant to be as seamless and stress free as possible for our hosts. All they have to do is tell us the dates they are gone and we do the rest: book guests, supply linens, do key exchanges, engage in 24/7 guest communication, and more.
When they return we have their apartments clean and just how they left it… and of course a direct deposit payment in their bank.
Q: You’ve recently entered into a service agreement with Proprly, how did that come about?
A: Proprly’s CEO and I had been speaking on and off the last few months about the sharing economy space and the market in general. We had built a good report and we were each looking for ways to build on our successful businesses.
When Proprly announced that they would be shutting down services in June, MetroButler was deemed by Proprly to be the most logical fit and the most capable of taking over service for Proprly’s clients. We were happy they had the trust in us to provide these services and we have been extremely pleased with the number of new clients who have converted over to our company.
Q: How has the agreement affected your business since the announcement?
A: We have been extremely pleased with how we’ve been able to build our customer base since the announcement. Not only have we had tremendous success converting Proprly’s clients over to us in a seamless and smooth transition, but the exposure has brought us a number of new clients from outside Proprly’s client base as well. In turn, that growth has brought a lot of new partnership opportunities and press opportunities our way. We are experiencing an accelerated growth period where the momentum from one area creates momentum in a new area. It’s a very exciting time for our company.
Q: What are your plans for the next six months?
A: Our next six months are going to be extremely exciting in the MetroButler office. We will be launching our new customer platform (a web based app which allows for all bookings, calendar overview, and financials dashboard), expanding our sales and customer experience staff, and building out new service partnerships with other companies in the NYC area. As we do this, we’ll remain focused on providing the best possible experience for all of our host clients and their guests.
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