Ten Questions with Christian Schwarz Lausten, Co-Founder and CEO at Landfolk

"If we start compromising on quality by allowing too much low-quality supply onto the platform, our brand will suffer. If we don’t continue building tech that scales and feels delightful, we’ll lose our edge."

Christian Schwarz Lausten is the co-founder and CEO at Landfolk, a second-home rental platform obsessed with quality, character and hospitality.

With a €10 million Series A funding round under its belt and 3000 listings in four countries, Landfolk already has its eyes on growing its footprint in the coming years—and Lausten is fine with being picky.

I spoke to him about the growth of the second-home rental sector, how to go international, monetization, German tourists, and more...

Christian Schwarz Lausten

Christian, thanks for talking to us. What problem does Landfolk solve?

Second homes sit empty for 300 days per year.

For homeowners, we offer a delightful, flexible, secure, and transparent platform to rent out their second homes, helping the owner manage them and earn money while they're not being used.

For guests, vacation means sacred family time. According to our research, the time spent searching for the perfect house is enormous. Our solution is to handpick and guarantee that Landfolk homes are of the highest quality in terms of decoration, materials, location, and hospitality.

This way, you don’t have to spend time searching—you can just book and relax.

How does Landfolk make money?

We take a commission from the transaction between the guest and the homeowner. If we assist the homeowner with cleaning the house after the stay, we also take a cut of that.

Second homeownership is a highly competitive space with many players. Can you give us a sense of the growth in the market and what it will take to beat the competition?

The vacation rental industry is growing at a 12.4% CAGR, and it’s becoming the preferred vacation option for families with children and multigenerational families.

People prefer the privacy of having an entire home to themselves, and vacation homes are often more secluded than apartments or resorts.

Because the paradox of choice and the discovery process can be overwhelming and stressful, we believe that building a curated collection of premium homes is the future of the industry.

We succeed because we attract a large number of exclusive listings that have never been rented before, with an exclusive brand and the fact that homeowners have to apply to the platform. Furthermore, our superior customer service is a key area where you must excel to win in this market.

This is a highly international market, with multiple operators offering cross-border rentals. How do you facilitate a “cross-border” model, and when is the right time to expand?

We are building launch teams to expand internationally. Our playbook has been tested and proven in four countries, so we believe we’re ready to scale. We’ve conducted a meticulous analysis of various European travel corridors, considering factors like the number of second homes not on the market and search volumes in each region. This analysis will guide our expansion in the coming years.

We have a strong foothold in the DACH region (100M+ people in Germany, Austria and the Swiss Confederation), where there’s high demand for travel and vacation rentals. Internally, we joke that our go-to-market strategy is ‘follow the Germans!’.

An unfortunate trend we foresee is that tourism will shift northward due to rising temperatures and unstable summer weather. This means our home turf, the Nordics, is becoming increasingly popular.

Congratulations on your recent €10.3 million Series A round. What did you learn from raising an eight-figure sum, and where will you invest the money?

Raising money is always hard, but in today’s financial climate, it’s more challenging than ever for consumer marketplaces. However, our team is one of the best marketplace teams in Europe, and our product and performance convinced all the VCs I talked to, which is why we succeeded.

There’s so much potential in this industry. The market is highly fragmented, and I believe a huge wave of consolidation will occur in the next decade. Our platform is built for scale and integration of portfolios of vacation homes, so that’s our path forward.

What other numbers can you share with us?

We operate in four countries with a total of 3,000 premium homes. We are very protective of our brand promise of delivering great quality and experiences, which is why we turn down 40% of all homes that apply to our platform.

We have grown 3x YoY in revenue and continue to grow at a high pace. 100% of our bookings are direct—we haven’t redistributed any of our supply yet.

We’re also proud to have maintained our Trustpilot score at 4.7+, which is best in class for the industry.

Your platform focuses heavily on handpicked second homes. How do you approach your manual vetting system?

Landfolk has four key criteria for handpicked houses to ensure they meet our high standards:

• Exceptional Location: Homes must be situated in unique surroundings, such as close to nature, water, or other scenic areas that offer peace and immersion.
• Character and Charm: The homes must have distinct personalities reflecting the owners’ style and taste, whether through architecture, interior design, or history.
• Quality and Comfort: The houses must be of high quality, offering a sense of luxury and comfort. Facilities must be well-maintained, and the home should be in excellent condition.
• Good Hospitality: Hosts must genuinely care about providing a great guest experience, being welcoming, friendly, and attentive to detail.

We thoroughly train our supply managers on these criteria. Additionally, we will soon launch an AI assistant to help assess the photos homeowners submit as part of their application.

What are some red flags when growing a business with a long-term, international vision like yours?

It’s incredibly difficult yet crucial to maintain both quality and product development simultaneously. If we start compromising on quality by allowing too much low-quality supply onto the platform, our brand will suffer. If we don’t continue building tech that scales and feels delightful, we’ll lose our edge.

We also have to keep supply and demand balanced to remain relevant as a marketplace, ensuring liquidity to satisfy both hosts and guests.

Having a founding team experienced in building marketplaces is invaluable for executing quickly and staying laser-focused on our roadmap.

Where do you see international marketplaces going in the next 3-5 years?

As the marketplace business model is margin-driven and governed by the commission structure, it’s important to continuously work on monetization ideas. I think the future of marketplaces will blend fintech, e-commerce, and the media industry. That’s where you should look for inspiration when developing your business and understanding the future of marketplaces.

What isn’t the real estate industry talking about that it should spend more time talking about?

There’s a lot of discussion around co-ownership models, fractional ownership, and a more fluid approach to real estate.

The industry is still burdened by the way things were done during the industrialization era in terms of ownership, payments, and paperwork. I hope to change that with Landfolk.

I also believe the second home asset class is one of the most interesting and underserved asset classes. I expect to see more innovation in this space in the coming years.