Rebecca McAleer and Laurence Malyon
The team behind aparthotel provider Moment Stays, led by entrepreneurial couple Laurence Malyon and Becky McAleer, are aiming to disrupt the short-term lettings market in Scotland with the launch of a new tech-enabled management service for landlords.
The Stay Co – part of hospitality provider Malyon Group – is being launched as the short-term lettings market has seen a wave of legislative changes. New licensing regimes have been implemented and control areas expanded by Scottish local authorities, with stricter compliance criteria and planning applications coming under tighter scrutiny.
At the same time, the lines between traditional hotels and short-term lettings are being blurred. Platforms such as Airbnb now list hotels among their choices for guests, while international hospitality groups like Marriott have begun to offer aparthotels, homes, and villas as short-stay accommodation options.
With an initial 18 properties already live across Edinburgh and Glasgow, The Stay Co will provide landlords with access to the same experienced team behind the aparthotel brand with dynamic pricing, digital guest management and data-led tools that allow the team to run short-term lets with the same professionalism and insight expected from leading hotel operators.
The company also commits to delivering more net revenue from properties compared to competitors or self-management, as well as a ‘switch guarantee’ for landlords moving from other agents.
Laurence Malyon, co-founder of The Stay Co, said: “Most short-term lets operators are time-poor professionals or retirees who want to focus on other aspects of their lives. But, with all the policy changes and hospitality groups moving into the market, the hassle of operating even one of these properties has become too high for many individuals to be able to compete without it becoming a full-time job.
“The Stay Co is about taking that burden off landlords’ shoulders and helping them to provide a professional service to guests. We’ve been in hospitality for more than a decade and, whether you’re running an aparthotel or holiday let, it’s the same skills and technology to operate them.
“We had property owners see our Moment accommodation and ask if we could do the same with their properties, so the decision to move into supporting short-term lets felt like an obvious move.
“We’re built on the back of that brand – which includes Edinburgh’s highest-reviewed aparthotel – and are focused on delivering the best possible guest experience. With that foundation, we truly believe that, in time, The Stay Co can be the biggest short-term lets operator in Scotland.”
Malyon Group was co-founded in 2024 by Laurence and Becky, and has quickly grown to a team of eight – all of whom are under the age of 35 – securing £2 million in guest revenue in its first year of operation. Prior to that, Laurence co-founded Donnini Apartments, a short-stay holiday accommodation business that operated around 70 units across Ayrshire.