VRWS Leadership Interview of the Day

1. What inspired you to enter the vacation rental industry?

The idea for bnbkit was born from something far more tangible than you might imagine. In 2021, my partners and I acquired an industrial laundry facility out of bankruptcy and began renovating it. To this day, I still spend a significant amount of time at the company, and every day we receive calls and emails from countless hosts who simply can’t find a laundry service that works for them.

When I was less experienced in the industry, I would ask my colleagues, “What do you guys think about serving these hosts?” The response was always the same: “Forget it, they’re too difficult to manage, too small, the logistics are impossible, and the linen always gets lost.”

For a while, I let it go, but then I looked at the numbers: 600,000 hosts in Italy, 1 million in France, 2 million in the United States. Is it really possible that no one is serving this market?

That’s where we come in! We created a startup to solve their problems: bnbkit. It’s a company that merges logistics and technology into a “logitech” startup. The challenge is significant, the road is long, and our ambitions are huge (not just for Italy, of course). We’ll see what happens!

2. What sets your company apart in the vacation rental industry, and how do you ensure you stay ahead of the competition?

We’re unique in our industry. While industrial laundries might also serve B&Bs and cleaning companies might handle laundry, we’re neither. We offer a high-quality linen rental kit service that we deliver directly to your door and pick up the dirty ones after check-out. This is all possible thanks to partnerships with major industrial groups, which allow us to always have ready-to-use linens and to optimize logistical costs to enable our growth.

It sounds simple, but it’s a complex operation. To make it efficient, we focus on logistics and technology. We’ve developed an entire platform that includes intuitive apps for ordering and managing deliveries, systems for optimizing routes, and direct integration with clients’ Channel Managers for automatic orders. We also use RFID chips on the linen for real-time tracking and artificial intelligence to support our sales and post-sales processes.

Our goal is to eliminate our clients’ stress by offering an impeccable service at a competitive price. Our platform not only automates orders but also monitors bookings to ensure timely deliveries. This allows our clients to save valuable time and avoid the initial investment and management costs of their own linen. Our uniqueness lies in our reliability, cutting-edge technology, and dedication to simplifying a crucial aspect of short-term rental management.

3. If you attended the 2024 Vacation Rental World Summit in Porto, what was the most exciting or valuable takeaway for you? And looking ahead to the 2025 edition in Rome, what are you hoping to gain or experience this time?

Even though we didn’t have the pleasure of attending the 2024 edition, we followed the key trends and innovations with great interest, particularly the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence and new strategies for personalizing the guest experience.

For the 2025 edition in Rome, we are excited to fully immerse ourselves in the VRWS environment. We hope to delve into discussions on emerging technologies, especially those that can contribute to sustainability in the sector and further optimize operational efficiency. We are eager to connect with industry leaders, explore new collaboration opportunities, and gain fresh insights that can help us further refine our solutions and better support our clients.

4. Beyond business, what’s one experience or destination that left a lasting impression on you, and why?

I come from a small town in Liguria—Chiavari—which is very typical of the Italian provinces. We have many beautiful things, but we lack a bit of the ‘world.’ So, if I had to say, I’ve always loved visiting the world’s great cities, like London.

5. What’s one fun fact, hidden talent, or little-known secret about you that other attendees should know to spark a great conversation with you?

I love starting businesses… maybe even too much! It’s my ‘illness.’ Everything I come across, I think it could become a business opportunity. It’s nice and stimulating, but I hope to eventually enjoy things a bit more, too!