AYA

What AYA does

AYA (legally LIOR GROUP LLC, doing business as Aya, Aya New York, and Big Apple Living) is a private co-living operator headquartered at 1220 Broadway, Manhattan. The company furnishes and rents 2–5 bedroom apartments across eight NYC neighborhoods spanning Manhattan (East Village, Upper East Side, Midtown, Upper West Side, Upper Manhattan) and Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Bushwick, East Williamsburg, Bedford Stuyvesant) on flexible 3–12 month leases, with all-inclusive pricing covering furniture, utilities, WiFi (300+ Mbps), and professional cleaning. Two primary product lines are offered: Shared Apartments (private rooms in shared units) and Entire Apartments (full private units), supplemented by a deposit-free rent option powered by Obligo, a member Referral Program, and a Corporate/University Housing Partnerships channel for institutional clients.

The business runs on a product-led, self-serve go-to-market motion: prospective residents browse properties and complete applications entirely online via helloaya.com and search.helloaya.com, with an application process that the company states can be completed in under 24 hours. Customer acquisition is driven by SEO-optimized neighborhood landing pages, a content blog, and active social media presence across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn, with referral incentives reinforcing bottom-of-funnel conversion. The technology stack is operationally focused rather than proprietary: standard third-party integrations (Obligo for deposit-free billing authorization, Google Maps API, Facebook and Google SSO), TRUSTe/VeriSign/SSL privacy and security certifications, and no mobile app. No core platform technology, AI/ML capabilities, or patents are disclosed.

AYA generates recurring monthly rental revenue from individual residents (students, interns, young professionals aged 18+), with a secondary revenue stream emerging from corporate and university partners providing housing for relocated employees, interns, and students. Pricing is not publicly disclosed at the unit level but is positioned below the cited NYC average of ~$4,000/month for one-bedroom apartments, and the company does not charge broker fees. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, no headcount data, and no external investors identified, suggesting a bootstrapped operating model.

Name

AYA

Legal name

LIOR GROUP LLC dba Aya New York

Website

https://helloaya.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AYA is a private NYC co-living operator (LIOR GROUP LLC) that rents fully furnished private rooms and entire apartments on flexible 3–12 month leases across Manhattan and Brooklyn, targeting students, interns, and young professionals through a self-serve online booking platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Co-living / Furnished Apartment Rentals

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311), Lessors of Real Estate (5311)

SIC

Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Co-Living / Hybrid Extended-Stay Residences (THAGAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Furnished Monthly Apartments (Urban/Residential) (THAMAFAB), Extended-stay serviced apartments (weekly/monthly) (THAMACAD)

Keywords

• Co-living rentals
• Furnished apartments
• Flexible lease housing
• Shared apartments NYC
• Short-term rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Monthly Rental Income: AYA generates recurring revenue through monthly rental payments from residents occupying private rooms in shared apartments or entire apartments. Rental agreements typically range from 3 months to one year with flexible terms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AYA is a NYC co-living operator that rents fully furnished apartments — both private rooms in shared apartments and full apartments — on flexible lease terms of 3 to 12 months. Rent is all-inclusive, covering furniture, utilities, WiFi (300+ Mbps), cleaning, and maintenance, and residents can complete the entire application and lease signing online, often in under 24 hours. The company also offers a deposit-free rent option via Obligo and a member referral program with rent credits and Amazon gift cards.

Product overview

AYA is a co-living company offering fully furnished apartments for rent in NYC with two primary product lines: Shared Apartments (private rooms in shared units for flexible co-living) and Entire Apartments (full private units). All rentals include furniture, utilities, WIFI, and cleaning services with flexible lease terms from 3 months to a year. The company supplements its core housing offerings with a Deposit Free Rent program (powered by Obligo), a Referral Program for member rewards, and Corporate/University Housing Partnerships for institutional clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shared Apartments Co-living product offering private furnished rooms in shared 2- to 5-bedroom apartments in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with utilities, WiFi, cleaning, and maintenance included. Designed for students, interns, freelancers, and young professionals who want flexible, community-oriented housing.
• Entire Apartments Full unfurnished-or-furnished apartment rentals for individuals or groups wanting their own private space without roommates, available on flexible 3-month to 12-month terms in NYC neighborhoods.
• Deposit Free Rent Deposit-free renting option powered by Obligo that enables qualifying residents to avoid upfront cash security deposits by providing pre-authorization for a limited billing amount, lowering move-in costs.
• Referral Program Member rewards program where existing residents earn a $200 rent credit or Amazon gift card per referral ($500 for 2 referrals) and referees receive $100 off their first month's rent.
• Corporate and University Housing Partnerships Institutional housing solution for companies and universities to provide flexible, fully furnished NYC apartments with premium services for employees, interns, and students, coordinated through a dedicated partner channel.

Quantifiable outcome

• Application process completable in under 24 hours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ObligosupportingTechnology or IntegrationAYA partners with Obligo to offer deposit-free rent options. Residents who qualify through Obligo's credit and banking verification receive billing authorization instead of paying upfront cash security deposits. This reduces move-in costs and provides flexibility for residents who may not have funds for traditional deposits.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Common: Common operates co-living apartments across multiple U.S. cities including NYC, offering private rooms in shared suites with flexible lease terms and all-inclusive amenities. It is the most direct large-scale co-living competitor to AYA in the same target demographic.
• Blueground: Blueground provides furnished, flexible-lease apartments in NYC and other major cities with monthly stays, utilities, and amenities bundled. It directly competes with AYA on the flexible, fully furnished apartment proposition for young professionals and relocating workers.
• Roomrs: Roomrs specializes in coliving rooms in NYC with fully furnished units, flexible leases, and all-inclusive pricing. It is a city-specific, niche-focused competitor with comparable value proposition to AYA.
• Bungalow: Bungalow offers shared furnished homes with flexible leases and pre-vetted roommates, originally focused on NYC and similar markets. It directly competes with AYA's shared apartment co-living product with similar move-in simplicity and roommate matching.
• Ollie: Ollie (formerly known for its co-living brand) operates all-inclusive furnished apartments with community programming in NYC and other cities. It targets the same young professional and student segment with a similar all-inclusive, service-rich model.

Broad incumbents

• Sonder: Sonder operates a broader portfolio of short- and long-stay apartments and hotel-like units across many cities. While its NYC offering overlaps with AYA's flexible furnished stays, its scale and tech platform sit at a different, more capital-intensive tier.
• WeLive (WeWork): WeLive was WeWork's co-living brand offering flexible, furnished apartments with community programming. Although scaled back, it pioneered the co-living concept AYA operates in and remains a category-defining, broader market reference peer.

Emerging players

• The Quarters: The Quarters provides co-living apartment buildings with community amenities in NYC and other urban markets. It targets a similar young professional demographic with flexible leases, comparable to AYA's value proposition.
• Outsite: Outsite offers coliving and remote-work-friendly furnished apartments in multiple cities, targeting digital nomads and professionals. Its flexible, community-oriented co-living model overlaps with AYA's positioning.
• Kasa: Kasa provides tech-enabled apartment-style stays with a fully digital booking experience in select U.S. cities. Its self-serve, app-driven model and flexible stay lengths make it a partial overlap with AYA's NYC flexible furnished offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/bigappleliving1?lang=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/AYAlivetogether
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-apple-living
• Instagraminstagram.com/ayalivetogether
• TikToktiktok.com/@ayanewyork

Compliance3 records

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 AYA