The founder of The Student Hotel will share the secrets behind his rise to success when he speaks at Entrepreneurial Scotland’s conference at Gleneagles later this month.
It was relocating to the Netherlands 14 years ago that sparked Charlie MacGregor’s vision to create a better space and experience for students, having been left dissatisfied by the standard at which they were treated in the area.
He quickly set out to replicate the UK model of student housing in order to provide a more positive and safe environment for them.
He launched the first Student Hotel project in Rotterdam in 2012.
From there, the portfolio has expanded to include 25 Student Hotels.
The hotels are in many of the key European cities including Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Florence and Amsterdam.
But it was not without strain that the company has reached where it is today.
Mr MacGregor said: “I wanted to serve the students better than they were being served.
“In Rotterdam, I had a blank piece of paper that I could do anything with but it was trying to explain something that does not exist – my vision of quality accommodation – to others that was the issue.
“But I knew what we had to create and we did just that.”
The Entrepreneurial Scotland event on April 25 will build on the last year’s global mindset theme.
It will look at the key issues for high growth organisations in Scotland.
Mr MacGregor is set to be one of several impressive business leaders in the line-up, who will share their stories to hundreds of budding business tycoons.
He added: “I’ll be speaking of how the company has reached where it is today, and how we tackled the challenges that faced us along the way.
“I can only tell from my personal experiences and advise going from what I’ve been through myself.
“Hopefully, I can add to the buzzing atmosphere that the event should generate.”
The audience will also hear about the company’s growth plans.
“We’re looking to go from our current figure of 25 Student Hotels to 60 in the next five to seven years.
“There is a great opportunity to expand internationally.”
business@thecourier.co.uk