Growth doesn’t always wait for a roadmap: The Steiner Residences story

Steiner Immobilien Group is a family-owned company, established over 60 years ago.

In 2017 the group began to renovate and rent the exclusive Steiner Residences in the centre of Vienna. Combining traditional Viennese charm with stylish interior design, their modern city apartments are designed for sophisticated travellers looking for exclusive accommodation that offers an affordable alternative to central hotels — with all apartments individually planned with beautiful modern furnishings and high-quality kitchens.

Steiner Residences didn’t begin with a five-year plan. It began with unsold apartments in Vienna.

In 2017, Kiki Shahabi partnered with his wife and the property owner, Mr. Steiner, to turn a single underperforming building into a short-term rental business. Kiki’s background was in IT, construction, and automotive — not hospitality. They weren’t trying to build a multi-property brand, they were simply trying to make one property work.

“We never thought, ‘We want to be five times bigger or ten times bigger.’ We just had this one single object.”

One year later, they added a second property. Then a third. Today, Steiner Residences operates seven properties with around 125 units.

With an IT mindset, Kiki set out to find a cloud-based PMS from day one. He evaluated multiple providers, but Cloudbeds stood out early thanks to an intuitive system and what he felt was a solid foundation.

“I didn’t go by marketing pages. I just knew Cloudbeds had a strong basis.”

Instead of forcing Steiner Residences into a one-size-fits-all setup, Cloudbeds gave them a strong operational core, marketplace place integrations, and support that showed up when it mattered most.

Kiki points to the core PMS experience, especially the calendar and day-to-day usability, as a key reason the team could keep moving fast as complexity grew. He also credits the ability to connect seamlessly with a range of marketplace solutions — from dynamic pricing and key management to other operational tools — as essential to scaling without friction.

Just as important is Cloudbeds customer support. Kiki recalls a phishing-related security incident that happened while he was thousands of kilometers away from Vienna. Thankfully, Cloudbeds was there to offer fast clarity and professional help — exactly what’s needed when things get stressful.

Since adopting Cloudbeds in 2017, Steiner Residences has grown substantially while protecting the one thing that fuels their strong reviews and repeat business: consistency.

No matter which property guests stay in, they can expect the same standard every time — a strong price-to-quality ratio paired with a contactless check-in and check-out experience that’s convenient, reliable, and friction-free.

Beyond the systems, the team stays focused on how guests feel: welcomed, comfortable, and at home. Underpinning it all is a relentless commitment to cleanliness, supported by the operational discipline needed to maintain that standard as the business scales.

With Cloudbeds as their operational core, Steiner Residences can keep expanding without losing control — adding new properties, integrating what they need, and staying focused on delivering the consistent experience that has earned guest trust.

And the growth isn’t slowing down. Their next chapter is already underway: three to four more properties and around 90 additional units in the near term, with a broader push toward 300 apartments within roughly 18 months.