Technology has made the real estate industry ripe for disruption. In the past few years, co-living spaces, earth-conscious developments and other innovative ways of living have sprouted up across the United States and have shaped the future of how we work and play.
Now, new startup Life House wants to change the way we travel (and who we travel with.) Their business model, which infuses hotel properties with upgraded, traveller-friendly technology, has investors so excited that the company raised $40 million in its Series A round earlier this month.
The company’s unique technology helps elevate traditional hotels into unforgettable experiences by tailoring to each unique traveller. Life House uses a series of questions to build a roommate profile for each traveller, and then matches these travellers together as roommates. This helps promote harmony, comfort and safety among travellers.
Life House hotels bring the local culture to guests with food, drinks and music. What’s more, the hotels also have well-equipped work spaces to ensure that those travelling for work, or even just firing off a few emails before hitting the pool, can take care of business.
The company’s technology extends to the back end of operations, as well, working to drive bookings, manage pricing and monitor real estate trends to maximize NOI for property owners.
Life House was founded just last year by industry veterans and former Johns Hopkins University classmates Rami Zeidan and Yury Yakubchyk. Prior to founding Life House, Zeidan served as VP of TPG Capital and director at Sydell Group. In both positions, he was responsible for investment and development in a range of hospitality properties. Self-taught programmer Yakubchyk previously served as CTO of communications network Wing.
Currently, Life House is available at two hotels in the Miami area. Later this year, Life House plans to formally take over the hotels, following summer renovations. In 2019, Life House will launch properties in Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
While many boutique hotels in New York City and beyond make use of booking and analytics technology, Life House represents one of the first hotel groups to make that technology a part of its mission and operations from day one.
