Stay Hotels

What Stay Hotels does

Stay Hotels is a privately-held Portuguese urban hotel chain founded in 2013 and headquartered in Porto, operating 12-13 mid-scale city hotels across Portugal from Guimarães and Porto in the north to Faro and Évora in the south, including the Grand Hotel Paris property. Its portfolio targets both business travelers (via the Stay Corporate program) and leisure travelers (via Stay Young, 2-Night Deal, and general promotions), with a stated positioning around central locations, comfort, and local cultural experiences in each city.

The company's core technology layer is the GuestCentric booking and website platform, which powers direct reservations, payment processing, and guest management across the network, supplemented by iOS and Android mobile apps that offer an exclusive 15% booking discount. Operational product features are branded under a "Just" prefix — Just Starting (breakfast until noon), Just Staying (accommodation), Just Delicious (24h bar and snacks), Just Connect (travel planning), Just Move (complimentary bicycles), and Just Play (social games) — alongside the STAY GREEN sustainability program. Marketing and customer engagement run primarily through direct digital channels (website, app, email newsletter) and organic social (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook), with no evidence of OTA marketplace dependency beyond direct bookings.

The business model is direct-to-consumer hotel accommodation revenue, complemented by ancillary F&B and service fees, with revenue mechanics driven by occupancy, ADR, and a multi-tier pricing architecture (Standard Rates, 2-Night Deal at 25% off, Stay Young at 30% off, Just Non-Refundable at 10% off, Just Early Booking at 20% off, App Tariff at 15% off, plus Stay Corporate and Stay Partners loyalty programs). The company has no disclosed external funding, operates independently with no parent or VC backing, and employs 51-100 people.

Name

Stay Hotels

Legal name

Stay Hotels

Website

https://stayhotels.pt

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stay Hotels is a privately-held Portuguese urban hotel chain, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Porto, operating 13 mid-scale city hotels across Portugal for business and leisure travelers, distributing primarily through direct website and mobile app bookings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Hotel Accommodation

NAICS

Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (721110), Traveler Accommodation (7211)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Hotels & Motels (7011)

akta.pro primary industry

Resort-Area Full-Service Hotels (Non–All-Inclusive) (THAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Urban hotel accommodation
• City center hotels
• Hotel loyalty programs
• Corporate travel lodging
• Direct booking discounts

Headquarters

HQ city

Porto

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hotel Accommodation Bookings: Revenue generated from hotel room bookings across 13 urban hotels in Portugal. Multiple pricing tiers with discounts for direct bookings through website and app.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stay Hotels operates a portfolio of 13 urban city hotels across Portugal, providing centrally located accommodation for both business and leisure travelers. Reservations are made through the company's own website and mobile app, supported by signature guest services (breakfast, 24-hour bar, complimentary bicycles, social games, and travel planning) and a set of discount and loyalty programs targeting corporate clients, partner networks, youth travelers, and advance bookers.

Product overview

Stay Hotels is a Portuguese urban hotel chain operating 13 strategically located properties across Portugal (including Porto Centro Trindade, Porto Centro Antas, Porto Aeroporto, Guimarães Centro, Leiria Centro, Coimbra Centro, Torres Vedras Centro, Lisboa Centro Saldanha, Lisboa Centro Chiado, Lisboa Aeroporto, Évora Centro, Faro Centro, and Grand Hotel Paris). The offering combines a direct online booking platform (powered by GuestCentric technology) with a mobile app offering exclusive promotional rates, supplemented by signature service features branded under the 'Just' prefix (Just Starting for breakfast, Just Staying for accommodation, Just Delicious for 24-hour bar & snacks, Just Connect for travel planning, Just Move for complimentary bicycles, and Just Play for social games). The portfolio also includes membership programs (Stay Corporate for business travelers, Stay Partners for partner network members), promotional rate plans (2-Night Deal with 25% midweek discount, Stay Young for 18-30 year olds with 30% off, Just Non-Refundable with 10% discount, and Just Early Booking with 20% discount), and a sustainability initiative called STAY GREEN.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stay Hotels Network of Urban Hotels

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• GuestCentriccoreTechnology or IntegrationGuestCentric provides hotel website and booking technology platform powering the Stay Hotels reservations system, online payments, and guest management functionality.
• Google (Analytics)supportingTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Analytics tracking cookies (_ga, _gid, _gat_gcTracker) used for website traffic analysis and visitor behavior measurement.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Holiday Inn (IHG):

Direct peers

• Moov Hotels: Portuguese budget urban hotel chain operating in Porto, Lisbon, Coimbra, and other mainland cities. Directly comparable as a mid-scale, city-focused Portuguese operator targeting both business and leisure segments with similar discount programs.
• B&B Hotels: Pan-European budget urban hotel chain with strong presence in Portugal (Porto, Lisbon, Faro). Competes head-to-head in the mid-scale city hotel segment with a similar direct-booking-led strategy and standardized room product.
• Turim Hotels: Portuguese mid-scale urban hotel group with properties concentrated in Lisbon and Porto. Directly comparable in city location strategy, target customer mix, and price positioning to Stay Hotels' urban core.
• easyHotel: European limited-service urban hotel brand targeting budget travelers in major city centers. Comparable in city-center positioning, low-cost operational model, and emphasis on simple, repeatable room product.

Regional players

• Vila Galé Hotels: Large Portuguese hotel group operating city and resort properties across Portugal and Brazil. Comparable as a domestic Portuguese operator but with a broader upscale-leaning portfolio than Stay Hotels.
• Pestana Hotel Group: Portugal's largest domestic hotel group, with urban and resort properties across the country. Comparable as a national-scale Portuguese chain but with a more upscale positioning and broader geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Accor (Ibis / Ibis Styles): Global hospitality group whose Ibis and Ibis Styles brands operate mid-scale urban hotels across Portugal. Comparable as a major competitor in the same city mid-scale segment, but as part of a much broader global portfolio with deeper loyalty infrastructure.
• NH Hotel Group: European urban hotel operator with strong presence in Lisbon and Porto. Comparable in targeting business and leisure travelers in Portuguese city centers but with a broader upscale-leaning footprint and global distribution.

Emerging players

• Hotel Central Parque / Staycity: European aparthotel/serviced apartment brand focused on urban extended-stay and short-stay demand. Comparable in targeting urban short-stay city travelers in Portugal and Iberia, with overlapping direct-booking and app-driven distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights2 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stayhotels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stay-hotels
• Instagraminstagram.com/stayhotels

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stay Hotels