Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem does Myflexhome solve?
Kilian Ricken, Co-Founder of Myflexhome: We offer a Platform for all those who regularly stay in the hotel stay overnight – from four nights per month.
Unlike other booking portals, our customers benefit from a radically simplified booking process and regular customer status with a constant price starting from the first night. Compared to individual bookings, our hotel subscription customers pay up to 40 percent less and also save themselves the time-consuming research and booking effort.
Our customers are private individuals, many in hybrid employment relationships or long-distance commuters, as well as companies with travel between locations or teams spread across Germany with shared presence days, for whom our model offers a simple solution for their required overnight stays.
Myflexhome: Hotel subscription with special booking process
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Kilian Ricken: Of course, there are many booking portals. But negotiated rates have always been reserved for large companies. Our booking process, which allows you to book all your overnight stays at once with just one click, is unique in the market.
Also, you usually have to pay for each night at the hotel separately. With us, however, there's only one monthly bill—no morning queues at the reception desk when checking out, and the billing address is always 100 percent correct.
Myflexhome customers also receive special benefits in the hotels, such as luggage storage between stays.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Kilian Ricken: During the coronavirus pandemic, we noticed that many of our friends and acquaintances moved away from Munich. They either wanted to return to their original hometown or wanted more space, which they couldn't afford in Munich. At the same time, they kept their jobs in Munich, which wasn't a problem during the mandatory work-from-home arrangement.
But we wondered what they'd do once they returned to the office, at least partially. This led us to the idea that a second home isn't worth it for just a few nights a week or month, and that hotels are the perfect alternative.
While we initially had a strong focus on hybrid workers, we have now also developed a special product for business customers.
First financing round in progress
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Kilian Ricken: We're currently working on our first round of financing. We're noticing that this has become significantly more difficult than it was two years ago, even though we've already reached over 50 percent of our funding goal.
Since none of us come from the hotel industry, it was initially a challenge for us to gain a deep understanding of the hotel market and build a network to find good hotel partners throughout Germany. We now have strong partners in Premier Inn, Numa, and other chains.
On the technical side, the challenge was to develop the platform completely independently from scratch, as there was no existing software that could support a subscription model for hotels. The solution is unique in the entire market to date.
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Kilian Ricken: We've now sold a high four-digit number of nights and more than tripled our revenue in 2023. At the same time, we were able to increase our margins and reach new target groups. Our goal is to reach the million-euro revenue mark this year, expand to more than 20 cities, and offer a Germany-wide subscription model, especially for business travel.
Many Munich-based startups are already using our subscription for their employees in hybrid working models, but also for team days, workshops, and projects.
Exchange with others is irreplaceable
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Kilian Ricken: Munich, along with Berlin, is certainly the best location in Germany to start a business. We've had our office at Werk1 since mid-2023, and the exchange with other startups and like-minded people is invaluable.
The coaching from Baystartup has also given us important impetus and is helping us a lot with our initial financing. Bavarian funding opportunities, such as Start? Grant!, helped us a lot, especially in the beginning.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Kilian Ricken: Currently, we're certainly still a hidden champion. While our bootstrapping approach has allowed us to grow steadily, we don't yet have the recognition and scale we desire and need. With our financing, strong expansion into additional cities, and our Germany-wide subscription for business travel, we want to become a shooting star.
