Five years ago, the world was entering the peak of its post-COVID era. After a period filled with loneliness, restrictions, and confusion, two values boomed globally – community and freedom. Once taken from us, we rushed to take them back.
In that wave, Raquel Villalobos decided to renovate her old family townhouse and create a roof over community and freedom, and in November 2021, Coliving 1907 first opened its doors.
A year later, we visited Raquel just after her 1st anniversary and fell in love with what she was building. Today, we have come back, 4 years later, to witness what five years actually looks like when someone builds something with this much care.
The art of saying no
Raquel was always open to all kinds of guests: travelers, digital nomads, creatives, corporates, those vacationing, those working, and those moving to Las Palmas.
But when the coliving first started operating, as time passed, it also shaped the kind of guest it was for. And even though the house does this selection partly on its own, Raquel told us she had a few instances where she had to make an executive decision and directly reject a booking. Imagine that — a small business owner trying to get on their feet, and especially in the hospitality industry, turning down a perfectly good customer. But, for Raquel, as for many other coliving owners, this kind of decision directly impacts the value and foundation of what she is building.
And this is the truth in life, but an especially important one in coliving: one person who doesn’t fit can make the place not fit for everyone else.
In a small community-based experience, even if one singular resident goes against the tide, the rest of the group could easily drown with them, in dissatisfaction, loneliness, or the lack of peace, comfort, and the community that was promised.
This lesson is the one that dangles in front of coliving owners since the day they open their doors: their community is curated, so they need to know how to say no. But the path to learning it runs through real losses — an empty room and a worry about how their decision will show up in the future.
Over the past five years, Raquel learned to recognize patterns that would, if not contained, most likely spill over her community. But to recognize them, she first had to watch them spill. She had to be present, observe, and listen to her residents.
Presence is a strategy, not a hustle
For Raquel, being present as the operator starts before the colivers even book.
Her website paints the story of the coliving but also about herself. She lets guests meet her before deciding if they even want to book. When they book and check in, she shows up. She actually shows up every day for a few hours to catch a bit of work alongside her guests, answer their questions in person, show them around, chit-chat, and help them feel more comfortable in the common areas.
But then she also leaves. She leaves colivers alone with the walls of the house, with their own quiet corners, and their daily rituals, letting them build their space and community beyond her.
As the owner, she poured her time, care, and passion into the project, but as the operator, she decentralized the experience away from herself and centered it on the coliving — the house, the guests, and what would grow between them.
Learning to leverage seasonal demand
Even with her already balanced approach, when the coliving started picking up guests, Raquel quickly realized that high season would require 150% of her to keep the house and the coliving running smoothly.
Knowing what works for her and the coliving already, she took this balance seriously and learned how to protect her energy so she could give it fully when it mattered.
She brought in a volunteer during the low months.
While most places hire volunteers to help during peak seasons, she did it the other way around. During peak season, she gives it all because, as she says, who else would be so dedicated to making the experience really great if not her? So, during the low months, when the house is quieter, and the fires are minor, when there is no commotion and little creative problem-solving needed, she can step back and take time off. And this is what helps her reset and, once again, give her 150% when the high season hits.
This energy seesaw is what buys Coliving 1907 something most operators can’t manufacture — guests who notice and come back to say so.
Unstructured is a structure
When she opened her doors, Raquel knew her place needed to have great events. She thought this was what people buy coliving for: an added value to just accommodation. So she organized them regularly: potluck dinners, seminars, workshops, classes, concerts. And oftentimes, she would open the doors to the public.
And it did look like it was working, in the beginning at least. The rooftop would fill, the events would go well, but something seemed out of place. The setup didn’t seem to be the best one for her guests.
When you think about it, it makes sense. In high season, the coliving is full. Colivers already have a community of new and exciting faces around them, their housemates. They don’t need more new people while they are still building connections with the ones they’ve just met.
The guests love spending their days in the house: working, soaking up the sun, reading, whatever suits them. So in the evenings, they want to go out. In the end, Raquel realized she wanted these people to feel at home, and in our own homes, most of us are not excited to host every week. She needed to leave the space for guests to make it the home they wished to have. Only then did she see the true connections spark: spontaneous family dinners, rooftop workouts, evening walks, whatever that particular group made of it.
For a lot of colivings, structure works wonders. For Coliving 1907, letting go of it is what brought people closer.
Transparency as a business model
A long time ago, somebody told Raquel they were hesitant to book because she didn’t have any reviews on Google. Before that conversation, she hadn’t really thought about it, but in that moment, she said it just clicked — reviews will be the most important public display of her business, and she needs to work for them, and needs them to be honest.
People stay, love it, enjoy it, and then they leave. While they are packing, they are not thinking about leaving the review, nor are they thinking about it while they are getting to the airport. By the time they get home, they have already planned another thing to do.
The answer is: ask.
From that past conversation that got stuck in Raquel’s head, she made a few habits that encourage her colivers to leave a review. She puts lighthearted reminders around the house, sends a professional email upon their check-out, and asks for feedback in person, letting her colivers know they should be honest when writing their reviews.
Honesty filters out people who would not be a fit. So, when somebody mentioned to her that the rooms could get loud with traffic noise at night, she encouraged them to mention it in the review. She thought that if this was a dealbreaker for somebody once, it would most likely be for another in the future, and it’s best to be upfront about it.
When these small habits help bring the right people into the coliving, what remains is this unique space that can comfortably and naturally just be itself.
When we sat down with Raquel 4 years ago, as Coliving 1907 just celebrated its 1st birthday, she was excited about her project, proud, a bit shy about it still, maybe a bit unsure. Today, as we sit with her and she talks about 300+ people who passed through the hallways of Coliving 1907, she is a different kind of proud: more relaxed, more certain in the success of what she created. It was not a lucky period, nor a trend. It was just her, and five years of learning to trust that.
Looking for professional help?
Here at MCS, we’ll help you find what works best for your place.
Go ahead and book a free consultation with us.