Inside City Pop’s European growth strategy with CEO Gawor

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Flex-living brand City Pop sets its sights on London and Paris as it scales to 3,000 units, with CEO Pawel Gawor focused on disciplined expansion and long-term profitability.

• What key drivers have fuelled City Pop’s growth across Europe?

City Pop’s growth is driven by simple but solid foundations: strong demand for flexible living, a model that scales well, and clear priorities when choosing new buildings. We started in 2019 with our first building in Zurich offering 52 apartments. In just three years, we reached 766 apartments, expanded across Switzerland, and opened our first building in Germany.

In 2024 and 2025 we entered a new phase, reaching 3,000 apartments in four countries, supported by rising mobility and a growing need for well-managed, ready-to-live units. We also launched City Pop 2NIGHT, our short-stay concept, which allows us to welcome commuters, digital nomads, and corporate travellers.

We are a Swiss company, family-owned and part of the Artisa Group – a stable and reliable developer deeply rooted across Switzerland. This gives us long-term security, financial strength and possibility to grow in a sustainable way. For us, profitability is always the first priority when we evaluate a new building. We only expand where the conditions are healthy and stable.

• How is City Pop adapting its expansion strategy to navigate current market challenges?

Our expansion strategy has changed a lot as we gained experience in different European countries. One of the main things we learned is that every country — and sometimes every city — works differently. Regulations, mobility, expectations, and even the way buildings are used can change a lot from Switzerland to Germany, or from Italy to the Czech Republic. That’s why having strong onsite teams who know the local reality is essential. Local knowledge helps us adapt quickly while keeping the same quality everywhere.

Another important part of our strategy is the way we analyse cities and neighbourhoods. We study transport, demand, prices, and housing pressure to understand if a location is sustainable in the long run. 

We look at markets both as developers and operators because this is our DNA. It gives us a clear advantage: we know what makes a building work financially, and we also know how to run it efficiently.

This is especially important in big and competitive cities where we are actively looking for new opportunities. Understanding a market before entering it helps us choose the right buildings and create long-term value.

• What is the company looking for in a potential partner or site, and how have those criteria evolved?

As we prepare our entry into major European capitals such as London and Paris, our selection criteria have become even more strategic and precise. These cities are highly competitive, with complex regulatory environments and strong demand for short/mid-stay accommodation — factors that require a very disciplined approach.

When we look at new partners and assets, the first thing we check is alignment and long-term vision. Until now, we have worked only with top-tier institutional investors. We choose owners or developers who understand the flexible living model and are ready to support an operator that works with transparency, digital tools and efficient building management.

In terms of assets, we prioritise modern or redeveloped buildings with layouts that allow us to operate between 35 and 150 units per site. Connectivity is crucial: locations must be well linked to public transport, employment hubs or city universities. This is especially true in London and Paris, where commuting patterns and neighbourhood dynamics shape resident demand much more strongly than in smaller cities.

We now also run detailed feasibility analyses, from regulatory checks to demand modelling, before entering any negotiation.
This structured approach ensures that every building we open can operate profitably, deliver a consistent guest experience and support our long-term expansion across Europe.

• Which markets present the most compelling opportunities for City Pop’s next phase of expansion, and why?

I guess I’ve already spoiled the answer in the previous question… but yes — Paris and London are the natural next steps for City Pop. Both cities clearly reflect the demand patterns that have fuelled our growth: strong international mobility, a high concentration of young professionals and a market where flexible living solutions are increasingly needed.

Paris is one of Europe’s most vibrant and international urban hubs. The city attracts a constant flow of students, professionals and project-based workers who look for furnished, reliable and digitally managed apartments for mid-term stays. This aligns perfectly with our model and with the evolution of urban living in France.

London, as a global gateway city, combines high mobility with a structural housing shortage. The short/mid-stay accommodation segment is still underdeveloped comparing to hotel market and the scale of the market makes it ideal for an operator capable of delivering consistency, efficiency and a strong digital experience across multiple buildings.

We also see interesting opportunities in other major European cities — such as Amsterdam, Munich, or Madrid— but in terms of strategic importance, demand depth and long-term potential, Paris and London stand out as the most compelling destinations for our next chapter.

• What emerging trends in urban living, mobility, and flexible accommodation are shaping City Pop’s product and service offering?

Urban living is becoming increasingly fluid: people relocate more often, stay for shorter periods and expect a digital, frictionless experience. This shift defines three core trends that guide the evolution of City Pop.

First, short/mid-term mobility is growing fast. Professionals, students and remote workers move between cities for projects or temporary assignments and look for fully furnished ready-to-live apartments that simplify their transition.

Second, hybrid lifestyles are reshaping expectations. Residents combine office work, remote work, study and travel within the same month — sometimes the same week — and need accommodation that adapts to these patterns.

Third, and most important for us, is the demand for consistency. Standardised quality across all buildings allows guests to experience City Pop in one city and confidently choose us again elsewhere. This is something we monitor closely and we’re very pleased to see a steady increase in retention: many guests move from one city to another and intentionally look for City Pop because they already know what to expect before even entering the building.

This confirms that a scalable, standardised and digitally enabled product is exactly what modern urban residents are looking for — and it’s a key driver of our future expansion.

• As the flexible living sector continues to mature, what does City Pop see as the biggest opportunities and risks in shaping its long-term outlook across Europe?

As the flexible living sector grows, we see a big opportunity for companies that can combine solid operations, scalability and clear financial discipline. Today the market is full of operators who focus mainly on fast expansion, sometimes forgetting the basic principle of any business: creating long-term stable profits for shareholders. In our view, this is where the real difference will be made in the years ahead.

For City Pop, the opportunity lies in building a model that works not only for guests but also for owners and investors — a model that is efficient, predictable and financially sustainable. Short/mid-term living is becoming a recognised asset class and this opens the door to stronger partnerships with institutional players.

On the risk side, regulation remains one of the biggest challenges. Rules change from city to city and this can affect timelines and operations. Another key factor is keeping operating costs under control. Energy, services, staffing and technology must be managed carefully to protect margins without compromising quality.

Overall, we believe the future of flexible living is positive — but success will belong to operators that grow with discipline, choose the right buildings and focus on long-term value instead of chasing scale at any cost.