The film industry is another lucrative target. Some business customers stay six months or longer as they get settled in new cities or travel between offices. Company clients increasingly include business travelers, who now account for about 30 percent of the business a segment Allen expects will grow. About 15 percent of customers are retirees. The largest segment of rental customers is 35 to 45 years old, followed by millennials. Stay Alfred is defining a new hospitality segment, says Nine Four General Partner Kurt Ramirez. The new round was led by Nine Four Ventures, a Chicago-based real estate technology fund. Last year, it raised $15 million in venture capital from an undisclosed Seattle-based private equity group. The privately held company also recently raised $47 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $62 million. Earlier, the company sold $15 million in securities. Last fall, it filed to register the sale of $40.4 million in securities, according to filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Stay Alfred has been funding its expansion in a variety of ways. Stay Alfreds units at 1221 First Ave.in Seattle include access to this indoor swimming pool. It recently moved from cramped quarters near downtown Spokane into larger space in Spokane Valley, where Allen was raised. magazines 500 or 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies three years in a row and now employs about 240 workers 140 in Spokane and expects the number to climb to 450 by next year. It posted another sizable increase last year, Allen says. In 2017, Stay Alfred posted $34.8 million in revenue, up from about $25.2 million the year before. The name Stay Alfred is a combination of Allens name and his former business partner, Conrad Manfred.

Allen, who self-financed the launch, thought travelers would embrace booking with a network of high-end apartments as vacation rentals in popular city destinations.

He and his brother had gone to Denver to see a Colorado Rockies baseball game and stayed in an apartment within walking distance of downtown and other amenities. In Seattle, rates start from a low of $76 to $110 a night and rise depending on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms needed and the number of guests.Īllen got the idea for Stay Alfred while serving in the U.S. Rates tend to be more affordable than nice hotels, according to recent listing information on the companys website. While major cities like Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Dallas are key areas of focus, Stay Alfred also operates in smaller cities, including Spokane, Boise, Savannah, Georgia, and Tempe, Arizona. On its website, Stay Alfred offers clients comprehensive recommendations for things to do in each city. When the Steelers play, the entire city fills up. Theres a lot of revitalization, shopping, and a river going through the city, and it helps having a major sports team there. We just opened up Pittsburgh, and that city is performing extremely well, he says. Seattle, Portland, Nashville and New Orleans are particularly popular destinations for company clients, Allen says, but newer cities are proving popular as well. The company, which has seven properties in Seattle in the Belltown and Denny Triangle neighborhoods as well as downtown now offers units in 28 U.S. Staying in Steves extra bedroom doesnt work for them. Theyre starting to look like other generations. As millennials have kids, they look for safety, cleanliness and knowing what to expect. I think there has been mixed bag of results and experiences. Unlike Airbnb, Stay Alfred manages the spaces rather than brokering them, so it doesnt face the same issues or challenges from a regulatory perspective and works with every city to maintain compliance.Īirbnb is 10 years old now, Allen points out. They also dont have to deal with other peoples things, as in an Airbnb rental.

Guests enjoy several in-room privileges they normally dont find at hotels, including washing machines, dishwashers and full kitchens. The company, which he started in 2011, advertises units in desirable, walkable downtown areas steps away from restaurants, shopping and events. Click here for a free subscription.Īllen is the founder and CEO of Stay Alfred, a fast-growing Spokane-based company that leases more than 1,400 high-end apartments, lofts or condos across the United States to tourists and business travelers for short-term stays. This article appears in print in the February 2019 issue.

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