Serviced apartments site MetroResidences raises funds from investors led by 500 Startups

To save on costs, many companies are looking at serviced apartments rather than hotels when sending their staff on business trips. But the search can be tough. Branded serviced apartments are expensive and at the other end of the spectrum, most office managers do not have the confidence to book via Airbnb.

MetroResidences, a Singapore-based startup that just raised funding, offers a solution. The platform, which launched 18 months ago, rents out fully furnished apartments to corporates without the steep markups that landlords usually charge business-class travelers.

The company doesn’t own the apartments, but taps private property owners or large asset management companies who may have idle properties they want rented out. MetroResidences takes care of setting up and styling the apartments, as well as the viewing, leasing, and maintenance checkboxes. In exchange, the company charges owners property management and marketing fees. It doesn’t take a cut of rentals, or charge end-users booking fees.

Fast growth in a hot market

Since its inception, MetroResidences’ portfolio has grown from 10 to 200 apartments across Singapore, a global business hub. The firm claims to carefully select every single one of its apartments based on location, safety, and furnishings, thus all its apartments are in excellent condition and are close to subway stations.

The company offers a 24-hour money back guarantee to ensure that all photos and descriptions on the site portray an accurate representation of the properties. It also provides rentals of baby cots, printer-scanners, and airport limo transfers should guests require.

MetroResidences just raised a S$1 million (US$695,000) seed funding round, led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm 500 Startups. Participating investors include Phey Teck Moh, ex­-CEO of Pacific Internet; Lim Dershing, ex-­founder of JobsCentral; Linus Lim, co-­CIO at Phillip Capital Management; and Ashok Melwani, CEO of A B Melwani.

A new name to trust

With the funding, MetroResidences wants to grow its reach, with the aim of capturing 10 percent of the serviced apartment market in Singapore. It also plans to expand to another Asian city this year, but it didn’t tell us exactly where.

“For a long time, corporates had to rely on brands such as Fraser and Ascott. MetroResidences is now offering them a fresher option, to take a piece of this billion-dollar market,” says 500 Startups managing partner Khailee Ng.

MetroResidences has so far housed more than 100 multinational companies and 200 small and medium-sized enterprises, tallying up more than 10,000 nights booked.

The company was founded by James Chua and Lester Kang, who also created the Airbnb clone PandaBed.