Mike Hadjioannou

Mike began his professional career in the construction industry, holding a diploma in structural engineering, and worked for five years as a site engineer at the family business, Ha. De. Co. Ltd. He later completed a diploma in surveying and spent another five years as a quantity surveyor before joining a local QS firm to broaden his experience. During this period, he also pursued his BSc degree while providing cost estimates and bills of quantities for individual contractors and developers.

In 2012, following the collapse of the construction industry due to the recession and limited job opportunities, Mike relocated to Protaras and later Ayia Napa, where he entered the hospitality and tourism sectors. He worked as a bartender in bars and hotels while continuing his studies and was later promoted to hotel manager—a role that deepened his industry knowledge and experience. He soon discovered a passion for combining his background in construction with tourism and hospitality.

In 2017, he identified an opportunity in renovating old buildings for short-term rentals on Airbnb. After securing a long-term agreement with a landlord, Mike renovated two properties into low-cost, high-quality two-bedroom apartments. Despite economic challenges, he leveraged his construction knowledge and network to deliver excellent results, generating strong returns and satisfying both guests and the landlord.

At the time, Mike was completing his university dissertation while working three jobs. He lived in the same properties he rented out, often having to find alternative accommodation when they were occupied. Managing the rentals proved stressful, and early attempts to outsource property management to traditional firms were unsuccessful due to unreliable service, high costs, and negative guest feedback.

Recognizing both the market potential and the gap in service quality, Mike founded STAY in 2019—a next-generation Airbnb management company. He partnered with Xanthos, a trusted friend known for his integrity, knowledge, and management skills. Their shared vision was to maximize profitability for property owners while delivering exceptional guest experiences. Together, they successfully established STAY as a growing force in the property management industry—and their journey continues.

Xanthos Yiallouros

Xanthos has a career of almost two decades working in the Tourist, Hospitality and Retail Industries. Before leaving for England to do his Master’s Degree in Marketing Management he was studying to finish his BSc in Multimedia Design and simultaneously working 2 jobs as a waiter in a Big Franchise restaurant and as an assistant in a retail shop. He has also spent one year working as a teleservice assistant.

In 2009 he went to England where he has spent two years in order to complete his Master’s Degree and returned to Cyprus immediately after its completion. At the time of his return Cyprus was starting to feel the shockwave of the credit crunch that affected the global economy and unemployment was on the rise. Unfortunately, he could not put in use the knowledge that he learned during his studies, but after a small period of being unemployed he got a job as a store manager in a Retailing company, that had customer focus on the epicenter of its strategy. A great working experience in a Market Leader with really strict procedures continuously striving for excellence and improvement.

In 2013 with the Haircut and its great impact on the economy, the company that Xanthos was working for had to let some of its employees go, and after that he decided to migrate to Australia. Life in Australia where he worked mostly in retail and construction was good. Great salaries, a beautiful country with lots of interesting places, many things to do and a new culture to learn but something was missing. His family was away and on top of that he was not doing what he loved to because he was also limited by the visa, he was holding. With the expiration of his visa he took the decision that it was time to head back home where things have started looking better, so with his luggages full of new friendships, experiences & knowledge he boarded the plane and headed back home.

With his return in 2016 he shortly found a job in retail once more this time being responsible for the timely replenishment of the inventory and the addition of new products in order to meet market demands. After a year at this job, he took the decision to start an MBA course at the University of Cyprus, a choice he feels will be one of the most important he ever took in advancing his career. It was at this time that Mike first proposed Xanthos to become a partner in founding the company, but he felt that he was not ready for it. Mike never gave up on Xanthos as he truly believed in him and after a period came back with another offer. Xanthos that was about to finish his MBA degree and always had the wish to creating his own Business felt that this was a promising business idea that could help him fulfill his dreams and put into practice everything that he has learned during was working and academic path.