The Lodging Property Owners Meeting 2025 started with a reminder that stories matter. Our CEO, Ezequiel Vallejo, began the day by introducing photographer Joan Monfort, responsible for documenting the event and known for the famous image of young Lamine Yamal with Lionel Messi. The photograph, taken in 2007 at the same time Lodging was taking its first steps, set the tone for the day. It represented the importance of constant effort and the ability to adapt to the challenges of a changing environment.
After this metaphor, a message of thanks to the community of owners of our tourism flats and monthly rental properties marked the start of a session designed to share our strategic vision for the future of temporary rentals in Barcelona. Drawing on his experience and resilient view of the business, Ezequiel highlighted positive steps such as the introduction of a unified registry and clearly outlined the challenges facing a sector that, despite its negative portrayal in the media, fulfils an essential role. It responds to a real need: providing flexible, furnished and high-quality housing for families who require accomodation for shorter periods of time. In his words, the only way to face adversity is to demonstrate that we are a highly professional service that works every day to become better, more efficient, more sustainable, more technological and more innovative.
The first part of the event, the Owner’s Lab, was presented as a space for shared knowledge. The session began with a brief review of the results of a survey sent to owners a few days earlier. Melania Cristea presented the main conclusions, which included the owners’ strong appreciation for Lodging’s consistent communication, the data available in the owners’ app and their interest in greater transparency regarding maintenance processes and operational reports.
The session continued with Gemma Tarradell, who outlined the work carried out in sustainability, describing it as invisible work implemented by the operations team to demonstrate that Lodging is an asset to the city rather than a problem. Gemma explained the key points of the process of renewing the Biosphere certification and encouraged owners to switch their utilities to 100% renewable energy; a free move that improves property visibility on rental platforms, among other advantages. Following the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Gemma described both the technical measures implemented for energy efficiency and those designed to promote sustainability and local culture, such as digital tourism guides and corporate social responsibility initiatives including donations to Cáritas, among other examples.
Next, Gabriel Santana from Okify demonstrated the potential of smart utility analysis to save costs across electricity, insurance and other services and costs. This system, which is free for owners, reduces the administrative workload and increases awareness of expenses. The reduction of more than 50 per cent in annual costs in a building managed by Lodging was presented as an example of how expenses can be optimised without compromising the guest experience.
The second part of the Owner’s Lab focused on the direct relationship between quality and profitability. Lodging team members Manuel Demoor, from Accounting, and Fabrizio Polichisio, from Quality, explained how maintenance standards, operational control and audits have a direct impact on increasing both revenue and occupancy. They emphasised a broader understanding of quality that takes three audiences into consideration: the guest, the local community and the owner. The introduction of the new Quality Management System, announced during the event, will allow each property to be measured using objective parameters, providing clearer monthly reports and concrete opportunities for improvement.
The event could not include the planned presentation by Guillem Brugué of Kave Home, a valued partner with whom we have seen how quality design and furnishings impact guest perception and, in turn, booking performance. Kave Home offers a 10 per cent discount to owners wishing to enhance the furnishings of properties managed by Lodging.
Innovation and technology
The third section of the meeting focused on innovation. Camila Aguado from Blumb demonstrated how artificial intelligence is being integrated into Lodging through review analysis, task automation and support for strategic decision making. Described as a tool that enhances human capability, Camila explained how the application has helped identify patterns in guest feedback and suggest improvements based on the data. She also outlined the guest agent application, which enables comprehensive monitoring of each property, its assets and its services. As a result, the team has been able to generate insights that inform decisions and strengthen operational processes.
With his characteristic charisma, the next speaker, Tomás Kancyper from smart home company Controlà, drew laughter from the audience when presenting the major innovation of the year: the checkout button. This simple tool improves the guest experience and frees up operational time. As the monthly rentals company using the highest level of technology in the market, Lodging’s plans with Controlà will enable even greater integration of smart home systems into property management.
The innovation and technology session concluded with a presentation by Cristina Ramón from Akiles. Almost all Lodging tourism apartments are equipped with this type of smart lock, and implementation is now under way in monthly rental properties. This system is more sustainable due to the elimination of travel for key handovers and reduces the need for additional copies. Cristina highlighted that Akiles is a Catalan company that distributes nationally produced products and emphasised the autonomy the system gives guests, who can enter using a link, a code or via the Akiles app.
Marketing and commercial strategy
The event concluded with the marketing section. Mauro Caratti and Paulo Marques presented the results of Lodging’s redesigned website, which has improved user experience and increased direct bookings for tourist rentals. “We love Booking.com, but a year ago almost 100% of our bookings depended on this channel,” explained Mauro, who announced that direct bookings have increased by 277.4% in 2025.
These results would be impossible without a paid Google Ads campaign strategy. In this regard, Camille Canale of Olalads discussed the Google Ads strategy aimed at attracting guests for both holiday and monthly stays in Spain and the United States. As a result, these campaigns have increased direct sales by 20%, an advantage that directly translates into higher commissions for property owners.
Finally, Arlette Delgado and Rosa Pérez from Booking presented their trend study for 2026, which is essential for anticipating traveller behaviour. They also introduced new AI applications, currently available only in the United States, and emphasised the importance of sustainability. Their global survey produced revealing insights, including that guests are willing to pay more for sustainable accommodation. Sustainability has become a demand from travellers, and Booking’s goal is to increase the number of properties with sustainability certifications, which will also boost visibility in search results.
Together on stage, the Lodging team closed the day with a clear message: economic, operational, cultural and environmental sustainability is not a trend but an attitude that requires conscious decisions and collective effort. It was a conclusion that reflected the spirit of the event, to continue building together the future of temporary rentals in Barcelona with professionalism and a strong sense of service.
