From Managing 70 Short Term Lets to Building a New Boutique Hotel Brand
Episode Overview
He built a short term let business to 70 units and 20 staff — then walked away at 29 to start from scratch. The very next day he went to view a hotel.
In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Laurence Malyon — founder of Moment aparthotel brand — for one of the most wide-ranging conversations they’ve had on the show. Laurence covers everything from running concerts for the neighbours at age 5 and rebranding his family’s fire suppression business at 15, to building Donnini Apartments with his uni flatmate Jake, exiting after seven years, and launching a hospitality brand that just did a £2.325 million deal on Edinburgh’s George IV Bridge.
This one is packed with lessons on business partnerships, aparthotel strategy, STL licensing, commercial funding, and why Glasgow and Edinburgh are completely different beasts.
Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 – Welcome back to Laurence & what he’s been building since
- 01:08 – Exiting Donnini & launching Moment hotel brand the very next day
- 01:58 – Growing up in a rundown farmhouse near Beattock
- 02:59 – The family fire suppression business
- 03:36 – Rebranding the family business at 15
- 05:15 – Why London and Dubai are the real competition
- 07:41 – Running concerts for the neighbours at age 5
- 09:01 – Selling fruit and veg to teachers for profit
- 10:39 – First flip at uni with Jake
- 13:47 – Discovering Airbnb as it was becoming a thing
- 14:10 – Touchstone / Progressive property training
- 16:59 – The rent to rent model that started it all
- 17:26 – STL legislation: why serviced accommodation is so much harder now
- 19:40 – Planning consent: licences, planning, or both
- 28:45 – The plan to go beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow
- 33:25 – Becky, the business conversation that changed everything
- 34:22 – The Moment trademark — what it means and why he owns it
- 35:00 – 12 George IV Bridge Edinburgh — the flagship deal
- 38:07 – £2.325 million on practical completion
- 39:39 – RBS as main lender — the journey to get there
- 40:22 – Oak North bank and how they got funding over the line
- 47:28 – First hire CJ — building the team
- 50:00 – Remote team in the Philippines
- 52:41 – 18% management fee — how it’s structured
- 59:01 – Sonder went bust: lessons from the big operators
- 1:01:18 – Stay Cool: what the brand offers and why it’s different
- 1:03:40 – Expansion plans: Lisbon, Paris and beyond
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Would you have walked away from 70 units to start again? Drop it in the comments
