Matt Talks Hospitality
Inside Bob W: Why Niko Karstikko treats hotels like software
January 28, 2026
Can a hotel run with one seventh of staff and still outperform its peers? Bob W is built for the modern traveler who wants the best of both worlds: the consistency and reliability of a hotel, with the space, utility and local feel of a short-stay apartment. But what truly sets Bob W apart is its software-first mindset. Niko Karstikko, Co-founder and CEO of Bob W, joins Matt to explain how Bob W blends apartments, hotels and automation into a new hospitality category.
Can a hotel run with one seventh of staff and still outperform its peers? Bob W is built for the modern traveler who wants the best of both worlds: the consistency and reliability of a hotel, with the space, utility and local feel of a short-stay apartment. But what truly sets Bob W apart is its software-first mindset. Niko Karstikko, Co-founder and CEO of Bob W, joins Matt to explain how Bob W blends apartments, hotels and automation into a new hospitality category.

Niko Karstikko is the Co-founder and CEO of Bob W, a European hospitality tech company operating thousands of apartments across more than 19 cities. With a builder’s mindset shaped by scaling companies outside the traditional hospitality sector, Bob W has pioneered a hybrid hotel-apartment model that achieves 2.5x greater EBITDA profitability than comparable hotels.


Learn more about the podcast here: https://hubs.ly/Q0350wrf0

#hoteltech #hospitalitypodcast #mews #hotelmanagementsystem #pms #hotelrevenue

00:00 – 1/7 staff, 6/7 tech: The Bob W operating model
03:24 – Why Bob W is not an Airbnb and not a hotel
08:45 – Inside Bob W’s automated tech stack
12:10 – Why Bob W is 2.5x more profitable
14:09 – Making self-service feel human
17:49 – “The last check-in ever”
26:34 – Scaling without using the local touch

 

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