Meet Mark:
The founder of Hestia

Mark Johnson is the founder and CEO of Hestia Sweden. He is an American–Swede who moved to Stockholm almost 20 years ago, where he raises a family and has worked closely within the startup scene. He’s a committed cyclist with a deep connection with the Stockholm community and neighborhoods. He also has a background in real estate and property management.

”Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities I know, and I’ve seen it evolve over the years to an international destination for discerning travelers. One of the driving factors in tourism in recent years has been experiential travel. People don’t want to stay in the soleless corporate hotel districts. They want to live in neighborhoods to get a sense for real life in or around the city.

I’ve been fortunate to have traveled extensively to over 100 countries, using short-term rental platforms like Airbnb to stay in private homes since its inception. My experience in Europe and the U.S. is that hosting services are fully professionalized. But in Sweden it’s much more of a “DIY” experience. It’s perfectly normal for Swedish hosts to ask guests to do their own cleaning or bring their own linens – quite surprising for most international guests. 

The lack of local, professional hosting management puts all the work on the property owners – thereby leaving many gorgeous Stockholm properties (and there are a lot of them!) empty for long periods of time.

And even if you do go through with all the trouble of renting out, the DIY guest experience will not warrant premium rates. Renting out your home should be worth the trouble. Or better yet – no trouble at all.

That’s where Hestia comes in. My vision is to design, promote and manage the entire short-term rental guest experience – while also providing zero-hassle financial freedom to property owners with premium real estate sitting vacant for months of the year.”