From Managing 70 Short Term Lets to Building a New Boutique Hotel Brand

<p>He built a short term let business to 70 units and 20 staff — then walked away at 29 to start from scratch. The very next day he went to view a hotel. 🏨</p><p><br /></p><p>In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Laurence Malyon — founder of Moment aparthotel brand — for one of the most wide-ranging conversations they've had on the show. Laurence covers everything from running concerts for the neighbours at age 5 and rebranding his family's fire suppression business at 15, to building Donnini Apartments with his uni flatmate Jake, exiting after seven years, and launching a hospitality brand that just did a £2.325 million deal on Edinburgh's George IV Bridge.</p><p><br /></p><p>This one is packed with lessons on business partnerships, aparthotel strategy, STL licensing, commercial funding, and why Glasgow and Edinburgh are completely different beasts.</p><p><br /></p><p>TIMESTAMPS</p><p>00:00 – Welcome back to Laurence &amp; what he's been building since</p><p>01:08 – Exiting Donnini &amp; launching Moment hotel brand the very next day</p><p>01:58 – Growing up in a rundown farmhouse near Beattock</p><p>02:59 – The family fire suppression business</p><p>03:36 – Rebranding the family business at 15</p><p>05:15 – Why London and Dubai are the real competition</p><p>07:41 – Running concerts for the neighbours at age 5</p><p>09:01 – Selling fruit and veg to teachers for profit</p><p>10:39 – First flip at uni with Jake</p><p>13:47 – Discovering Airbnb as it was becoming a thing</p><p>14:10 – Touchstone / Progressive property training</p><p>16:59 – The rent to rent model that started it all</p><p>17:26 – STL legislation: why serviced accommodation is so much harder now</p><p>19:40 – Planning consent: licences, planning, or both</p><p>28:45 – The plan to go beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow</p><p>33:25 – Becky, the business conversation that changed everything</p><p>34:22 – The Moment trademark — what it means and why he owns it</p><p>35:00 – 12 George IV Bridge Edinburgh — the flagship deal</p><p>38:07 – £2.325 million on practical completion</p><p>39:39 – RBS as main lender — the journey to get there</p><p>40:22 – Oak North bank and how they got funding over the line</p><p>47:28 – First hire CJ — building the team</p><p>50:00 – Remote team in the Philippines</p><p>52:41 – 18% management fee — how it's structured</p><p>59:01 – Sonder went bust: lessons from the big operators</p><p>1:01:18 – Stay Cool: what the brand offers and why it's different</p><p>1:03:40 – Expansion plans: Lisbon, Paris and beyond</p><p><br /></p><p>CONNECT WITH LAURENCE</p><p>Moment Aparthotels: momentstays.com</p><p>@moment.stays on Instagram</p><p><br /></p><p>NETWORKING EVENTS</p><p>First Wednesday of every month</p><p>📍 Aberdeen | Dundee | Edinburgh | Glasgow</p><p>Follow our socials for speakers and details</p><p><br /></p><p>SPONSORED BY</p><p>Prime Property Auctions — earn £1,500 just for sending a WhatsApp. If you know someone selling a property, John and Lewis will pay you £1,500 or 1% of the sale price (whichever is higher) just for passing on their details. They've paid out over £350,000 in referral fees so far.</p><p>👉 https://primepropertyauctions.co.uk/</p><p><br /></p><p>🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode</p><p>👍 Like if you found this valuable</p><p>💬 Would you have walked away from 70 units to start again? Drop it in the comments 👇</p>