Kasa

Kasa Living, Inc. operates a portfolio of flexible accommodations across the United States, combining apartments, boutique hotels and single-family homes under the Kasa brand. Rather than owning real estate, the company partners with real estate owners and investors to convert investor-owned multifamily apartments, boutique hotels and single-family homes into professionally managed short- and longer-term accommodations. Bookings are made through Kasa's own site as well as third-party channels such as Expedia.

The guest offering is built around a largely staffless model: standard features at most properties include virtual check-in and checkout, keyless entry, free high-speed Wi-Fi, pet-friendly rooms, a 24/7 virtual guest experience reachable by text, and standardized bed and bath products. Kasa positions its properties for a range of trip types, including business travel, family and leisure trips, long-term stays, group travel, corporate partnerships and corporate housing. As of the company's about page, the portfolio spans 75+ properties with 40+ property partners, 250+ team members and more than 1 million room nights delivered. Property names include both Kasa-branded apartment buildings and named boutique hotels, and the portfolio also includes properties branded "Mint House ... by Kasa."

Founding story

Kasa Living, Inc. was founded in San Francisco in 2016 by Roman Pedan, previously a real estate private equity investor at KKR & Co.

Business model

Kasa describes an asset-light model in which it partners with real estate owners rather than acquiring properties, operating their assets as branded, professionally managed accommodations. The company states it improves property profitability by more than 50% after taking over properties and reports raising property review scores across booking channels. A consortium of real estate investors has committed over a billion dollars to date to invest in real estate powered by Kasa, which the company frames as a route to capital-efficient portfolio expansion.

Revenue is generated from guest stays at partner-owned properties operated under the Kasa brand across nightly, group, long-term and corporate housing stays; the company reports "managed revenue" as a headline growth metric.

Traction

Reported traction includes more than 1 million room nights, 75+ properties, 40+ property partners and 250+ team members; managed revenue grew more than 6x between the October 2020 Series B and the October 2023 Series C. Earlier reporting cited 75% occupancy, 50% growth in units under management and 50% revenue growth from January to October 2020, and 500K+ room nights with 75+ properties and 40+ property partners as of May 2023. Kasa was named to the Forbes 2022 list of America's Best Startup Employers.

Latest developments

In October 2023 Kasa closed a twice-upsized, oversubscribed $70 million all-equity Series C led by Citi Ventures and FirstMark Capital, with new investors New York Life Ventures and Fireside Investments and existing investors RET Ventures, Zigg Capital and Ribbit Capital. The company said the round left it able to expand its property portfolio without further external funding, and that real estate partners had dedicated over $1 billion to date to properties powered by Kasa. Hospitality veteran Jonathan Langer joined the board.