Ittai Savran has been the CEO of Olala Homes since 2017. His trajectory in the company has been crucial to the development of the business activity and the continuous growth of our portfolio. We had the pleasure to have a chat with him and ask him what is life at Olala Homes, where the company is heading to, and what are his plans for 2023.
If you have to describe Olala Homes in a few words, how would you define it?
For me Olala Homes is a hospitality concept with a combination of soul and sophistication that cares about the entire guest journey in order to improve and redefine the industry. This is why it’s a great place for talents to grow in, and for real estate partners to grow with.
How would you describe Olala Homes’ progress over the past few years?
We have been growing rapidly and steadily not only in the number of properties we own and manage, but also our capabilities in every single aspect of vacation rental management, from development and design, marketing to guest care, and this is a team effort. Growing sometimes involves “growing pain,” when flexibility and agility have priority, especially as a fast-growing company in the ever changing hospitality industry, but the key is to learn fast, know our guests, and build an efficient process that works.
What are this year’s goals for Olala Homes? Where do you see Olala Homes in the future?
All of our goals have been developed over time keeping in mind the processes of best practices and sustainability. First of all, we want to focus on our people. We’ve grown really fast this past year, over 62%, and we want to make sure that along with all the new exciting projects we also build a balanced organisation that helps talents grow as well as our accommodations. I believe hospitality is going toward a lot of automation and efficiency related optimization. As I see it, this doesn’t necessarily mean fewer labour, but creating much more value to our guests in our properties and services with the same effort.
Our second goal is to make sure we are optimising the guest experience to the fullest in order to make our guests feel comfortable and at home.
Another goal we are working hard to reach this year is in terms of expansion. We want Olala Homes to be accessible around the world. We are really excited for some big projects we have planned for this year and hopefully more to come.
Last but not least, we are working toward a sustainability oriented business. We are also planning various aspects of projects across the
And your New Years’ Resolutions?
1. Doing more sports.
2. Reading and learning.
3. Spending more time with my family.
4. Be more patient!
What is the best part of being the CEO at Olala Homes?
Since it’s a relatively young company, the CEO is involved in building every piece of the structure and process of a very dynamic and fast-paced organisation, to lead a passionate and capable team of professionals toward our vision to create a smart, seamless and amazing stay experience.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned since being in Olala Homes as the CEO?
I’ve learned that it is very hard to predict future and outcomes but good planning and thoughtful execution always help. Before Covid started, we already installed contactless check-in and other smart technologies to host guests. So when the pandemic hit, we were more than prepared to host guests in need during lockdown and to adapt to the new normality after the lockdown was cancelled.
SPEED ROUND!
Favourite Olala Homes project. Very hard to say… I would say the creation of a company taking care of almost all processes from A to Z in house. But if I had to say something, I’m pretty excited for the upcoming projects in Athens and Israel.
Best advice you could give. Don’t be afraid to try and do things in an agile approach.
What other passions do you have besides your work? Family, running (need to do more of that), different cultures.
Favourite place you’ve ever visited. Taiwan and Colombia.
Next place in your bucket list. South America.
