Co-Living: How Habyt Leveraged KeyNest Points for Global Expansion
Habyt is a leading co-living provider based in Berlin, with over 40 locations in 14 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. With 30,000+ units that range from co-living spaces to traditional rental apartments, Habyt is committed to providing fully-furnished and all-inclusive rentals that enable tenants to live effortlessly and flexibly anywhere in the world.
In 2022, Habyt merged with H'mlet, the largest co-living company in the Asia Pacific, and expanded its operations in new cities in the APAC region. And just recently, in January 2023, Habyt merged with Common, the largest co-living operator in North America, creating a next-generation global living concept.
Common is one of the better-known startups in the co-living and property management platform space. Founded in 2015, the company’s venture capital fundraise hit $113 million in 2020 following a $50 million Series D round.
To meet the demands of the real estate market, Common has positioned itself as a utilitarian offering. Although the company promotes friendly and social spaces, Chairman Brad Hardgreaves clarifies that Common didn't intend to create a purposeful community. Surprisingly, less than 10% of their applicants have stated that their primary motivation for seeking co-living solutions is to form new connections or be part of a community. This shift in perspective is noteworthy, as the "community" aspect was once a key selling point for many co-living and co-working brands.
Habyt's global expansion is powered by innovative tech solutions that deliver a frictionless customer and tenant rental journey. With a strong focus on improving the rental experience, Habyt has fully digitalized its paperless booking process for tenants and guests, providing a seamless communication channel and additional services at the click of a button.
Habyt’s global expansion of digital operations
Habyt's rental process is entirely digitalized, eliminating the need for paper-based booking. As tenants move in, the digital approach persists, with communication channels and extra services accessible with just a single click. Vincent Shenk, the VP of Global Operations at Habyt, affirms that the company's growth is still ongoing.
“When we started in 2017, we were operating just a few apartments across Berlin. And now, by the end of 2022, we are present in multiple European and Asian cities, and have achieved 10x growth over the last 12 months.”
Introducing the new quality of check-ins
A few years back, Habyt's expansion into new locations led the team to realize that the manual key exchange during check-ins and check-outs was a problematic part of the guest experience. The keys were handed over by Habyt team members at the main office, which was not convenient.
As a result, tenants, cleaners, and contractor providers had to visit Habyt's headquarters to collect the keys, causing a detour. After conducting a brief market survey, Habyt's team stumbled upon KeyNest's remote key exchange service and decided to try it out.
The first cities that established remote key exchanges with KeyNest were Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt. Since KeyNest Points were already present near Habyt's properties, introducing this new service was almost instantaneous. The process involved transferring Habyt's property keys to designated KeyNest Points, creating additional key copies when necessary, and teaching the team how to use the solution via the desktop portal and app.
This move facilitated a fully digital, paperless booking process for tenants and guests, and the digital approach was maintained even after the guest moved in, with communication channels and additional services available with a click of a button. According to Vincent Shenk, Habyt's VP of Global Operations, the company is continuously expanding.
“In our smaller destinations, like Modena in Italy, there were no KeyNest Points available, so we requested for the locations to be opened specially for the needs of Habyt’s operations. I was frankly quite surprised by how quickly they were created. Whenever requested, I saw new Points being ready for us to use within a week or two. I find this to be one of the core advantages of KeyNest: being fully flexible and responsive. Introducing KeyNest Points service was a game changer for our operations.”
- says Schenk
KeyNest offers 24/7 customer service in multiple languages - which matches Habyt’s international presence. With keys to thousands of properties exchanged each month, there is always a chance that something might not go as planned - but with real-time chat support and a hotline, KeyNest keeps these cases under control.
How has the experience with KeyNest been so far?
When asked about the general impression of the service so far, Schenk lights up:
“It’s been very proactive, flexible and fast. My team appreciates how open the KeyNest team is when hearing about our ideas to adjust existing services according to specific market needs. Everyone is extremely hands-on and keen to help us succeed in current and new cities - the instant replies and solutions to even the smallest issues make the team at Habyt fully comfortable about handling the keys remotely.
It's not just a one-way street - as businesses, we grow together. I think the strength of the collaboration comes from trusting each other and improving the processes in a way that is scalable for both sides. “
Find out more about KeyNest’s services for co-living and mid-term rental operators here.