2021 in review: Blueground at the forefront of flexible living
As we close out yet another year, we’ve welcomed even more people into the Blueground lifestyle, as flexibility has become highly valued both at work and at home.
Blueground guests are taking advantage of having more freedom to decide where they live and work in order to have richer experiences. They are learning more as they explore the world, while we learn from them how to keep evolving our network of flexible-term, move-in ready and beautifully designed apartments to fit their needs and lifestyles.
This increased demand for flexibility is not just about where people are choosing to live, what type of apartment in which city, but also about embracing uncertainty as an opportunity to live differently.
We now can — and want to! — live more flexibly
The menu of workplace configurations has expanded dramatically. If you have a hybrid work setup, you can choose whether to go into the office or not, and how often. More people than ever have the option to work remotely, and are working from different locations — hopping from city to city to mix business and leisure.
In a survey conducted earlier this year, 58% of more than 2,100 respondents who have been working remotely throughout the pandemic would “absolutely” look for a new job if they could not continue remote work. When you consider the growing number of companies moving to permanent remote work policies, it is clear that remote work is popular with companies and workers alike, thanks to greater flexibility for both parties. About half of our guests choose to stay with Blueground because of our flexible leasing terms and how quick and easy the process of renting is, and 81% of them choose us because all they need to do is quite literally show up and start living. Rather than spending their first days in a new city setting up utilities or shopping for furniture and accessories, Blueground guests can get right out and explore.
Blueground enables people to make the most of their newfound freedom
As we see the shift in the way people live and work influencing the global real estate market, Blueground’s flexible living product is perfectly positioned to cater to these emerging requirements.
Flexibility is a central feature of Blueground’s product
One of the key takeaways from thousands of guest reviews over the past two years is that flexibility is paramount. People do not want to be tied to annual contracts that don’t fit their way of living. Many of our bookings start just a few days out, reflecting a change in how people make their living arrangements and demonstrating a clear shift away from the precedent of the year-long lease. The initial length of stay has somewhat decreased across our portfolio, especially in our U.S. markets, but extensions have doubled for an average stay of 4.5 months. In this new environment, people prefer to plan with less lead time. In light of this, we focused on giving more options to our guests and making it easy for them to make decisions on a whim. Our guests appreciate that they can change locations quickly without sacrificing their comfort and safety.
People that are working remotely are choosing Blueground as their home
Twenty five percent of our guests are staying with Blueground for a change of scenery. That number grew fivefold compared to pre-pandemic. This group of “nomads” now represents a very significant percentage of our guests and revenue. Why is that?
With a Blueground apartment, you avoid the hassle of having to buy furniture and move it from place to place. Our repeat guests also know that they are guaranteed to have a quality stay with us, in terms of high-end furniture and linens, responsive service, and a Welcome Kit to help them get settled.
We have delivered additional features to cater to the changing needs of our guests. They can now enjoy more flexibility around how often they change homes, and have the option to stay without a specific move-out date but decide as they go, as well as more certainty around availability and prices during uncertain times. The Blueground Pass is the product that helps our guests get the most out of moving around our network while benefiting from substantial discounts.
The Blueground team can also choose to live and work from anywhere
At Blueground, we are strong believers that living in different places around the world helps broaden one’s perspective, and even change their viewpoints on life. With this core belief in mind, in 2021 we empowered our team to be more mobile and meet more of the world if they choose to do so. Our Blueground Nomads initiative lets qualified team members — a.k.a. BeeGees — work from wherever they desire, as well as apply for temporary placements across our markets in order to expand their horizons and reap the maximum benefits of working at a global, remote-first organization.
A change in landscape + strong company performance led to a record year
As I take the opportunity to reflect on 2021, I am proud of Blueground’s successes. I am thrilled to share that we hosted 50% more guests in 2021 than in 2020 — nearly 20,000 people in all.
This of course could not be achieved without the support of Blueground’s stakeholders. I am truly thankful to all of Blueground’s guests, landlords and team members — as well as our investors, partners, and other supporters — for making 2021 an incredible year for the company.
Here are some highlights from the past year:
Demand
This past year was a whirlwind for all of us at Blueground. Although the pandemic certainly affected operations, Blueground was able to maintain an average 94% global occupancy throughout 2021 — outperforming the sector during another challenging year.
Growth
In 2021, Blueground’s total global inventory surpassed 5,500 apartments and we brought our flexible living concept to six new markets: Austin, Berlin, Denver, Madrid, Vienna, and Zurich, for a total of 18 cities. It is fundamental to our business model that no one should ever have to sacrifice the quality of their living situation in order to explore the world more fully. We also grew the Blueground team to more than 500 members across the world.
Technology
Our network of move-in ready, beautifully designed homes is powered by our proprietary technology. It has been a great year for us on the tech front. Our 50-strong tech and data team expanded on our tech solutions, including our web platform, mobile application that streamlines our clients’ entire stay, a best in class dynamic pricing system and a proprietary system that is the backbone of all our operations. To further strengthen our effort, we will be doubling our team to 100 within 2022.
Design
I am proud to share just a few of the hundreds of improvements our team made throughout the year. We elevated Blueground’s custom-designed apartments into the next level in terms of aesthetics and functionality. We improved our furniture selection for each space, as well as the optimal layout, so that every apartment has a place to work and another area to unwind.
Partnerships
Blueground is further supporting global mobility and work/life balance through some of our strategic partnerships. We work with best in class companies offering everything from dog walking to grocery services, transportation to and from bookings, extra storage and wine delivery.
Funding
In September, we announced the details of a $180 million Series C financing package. Blueground raised $140 million in equity financing from WestCap, with participation from Geolo Capital, Prime Ventures and VentureFriends, in addition to a $40 million debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. Blueground has raised a total of $258 million to date.
Looking toward 2022, the future is very exciting
In Q1 2022 we will announce four new cities to add to our portfolio, continuing with our fast-paced growth strategy to meet the incredible demand we’re seeing. In order to keep up with our demand, we’re excited to be hiring more BeeGees to join our team globally. We currently have over 550 employees and plan to grow to 2,000 in the next two years. Another growth area for Blueground in 2022 will be Blueground for Business. While typical business travel has changed since the onset of the pandemic, our Blueground for Business team had their best year ever in 2021 with corporate relocations restarting, and will continue to see this growth through the first half of next year.
I want to close by thanking everyone who contributed to our success, whether as a guest, a team member, a landlord, a partner or as an investor. If you or someone in your life is looking for a new challenge in the new year, I would encourage you to check out our open roles at Blueground.
I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season, and a prosperous and happy 2022.
Sincerely,
Alex Chatzieleftheriou
CEO & Co-founder, Blueground
