Growth Stories
Host & Stay, founded in 2018 by entrepreneur Dale Smith, is a rapidly growing holiday let and short-term rental management business that has disrupted the market with its innovative and fully integrated service model. Maximising rental yields for property owners while delivering exceptional guest experiences, Host & Stay is fast becoming the leading end-to-end holiday let and short term rental management agency in the UK. From managing nine properties in 2019 to over 1,200 properties in 2024, Host & Stay has demonstrated an exceptional rate of growth which outstrips all others in the market over the same period.
After completing a golf scholarship at the University of San Diego, Dale joined automotive retailer Peter Vardy in the UK, where he progressed from Marketing Assistant to board level Commercial Director just eight years. Then, when searching for a holiday let management service provider on the North Yorkshire coast Dale identified a gap in the market for an end-to-end management service, so at the age of 29 his natural ambition turned him down the entrepreneurial path and he left Peter Vardy to establish Host & Stay in 2018.
Host & Stay has a unique model of property management which leverages global online travel agents, such as Airbnb and booking.com, to achieve higher occupancy rates and higher revenue per property than its competitors, alongside handling the full end-to-end management process via a dedicated in-house team (which includes booking generation and marketing, housekeeping, maintenance, compliance, interior design support and refurbishment works). This means Host & Stay can offer its services at lower than market base commission rates and achieve best-in-class rental yields, provide seamless management for property owners, and deliver the highest quality of stays for guests.
Traditional short term rental agencies have typically neglected those with properties in urban locations due to the higher volume and associated complexities of shorter stays. Host & Stay, however, is able to embrace this complexity due to its in-house teams and operational foundation, allowing it to capitalise on this gap in the market whilst simultaneously continuing to grow its portfolio in traditional holiday let locations across the UK.
Why we love Host & Stay
Host & Stay’s success is driven by its commitment to providing unmatched service and value to both property owners and guests. Host & Stay’s fully managed approach, which allows Host & Stay to handle every aspect of property management in-house, has created a truly differentiated proposition in the market that will become more powerful and valuable as the business continues to scale towards becoming the leading end-to-end holiday let and short term rental management agency in the UK.
Additionally, Dale has built an incredible team of industry experts across finance, operations, technology, marketing and an in-house M&A function, who bring a wealth of experience and passion to the business, fuelling its continued expansion and success.
Looking ahead…
Following Host & Stay’s investment to date in its team and infrastructure, the business is set up to continue on its exceptional growth trajectory through both an exciting buy-and-build strategy, acquiring smaller holiday let and short term rental management businesses, and driving organic customer acquisition through greater brand awareness and national reach in the market. With the support of Growth Partner, Host & Stay’s buy-and-build strategy gained instant momentum with the acquisition of two property management businesses totalling 250 properties on completion of Growth Partner’s investment, giving Host & Stay footholds in exciting new regional UK markets.