Londonist Unlocks 3X Student Conversions with VerbaFlo AI

Client Overview

Londonist DMC is a multi-award-winning student accommodation agency with 2,000+ rooms across 50+ prime locations in London.

Londonist DMC is a premium student accommodation provider with a global presence, operating offices in London, Turkey, and China. Established in 2013, the company specialises in providing a diverse range of short and long-term student housing options.

With a strong focus on five-star service, Londonist aims to create a welcoming and comfortable living experience for students from around the world. Today, Londonist manages a portfolio of properties, including Zones 1, 2, and 3. From King's Cross and Spitalfields to Lewisham, Portobello, Highbury, and Islington, the company offers a wide selection of high-quality residences designed to meet a variety of student lifestyles and needs.

The Technology: VerbaFlo AI

The world’s most adaptive conversational AI – verbaflo.ai

VerbaFlo is an AI-powered communication platform purpose-built for real estate. The multi-modal system spans webchat, WhatsApp, email, and voice to deliver always-on engagement, lead capture, and resident support, all from one unified dashboard.

Whether it's automating first-touch inquiries, qualifying high-intent leads, or streamlining tenant operations, VerbaFlo’s adaptable AI helps property operators drive revenue while reducing manual effort.

Built with enterprise-grade security and domain-specific intelligence, VerbaFlo is trusted by top student housing, build-to-rent, and co-living brands across the UK and beyond. With real-time dashboards, multilingual capabilities, and zero downtime, VerbaFlo turns every conversation into a conversion opportunity.

Before VerbaFlo – The Challenge

Londonist, a premium student accommodation provider, had a strong digital presence but its support and sales workflows needed a more agile way to manage rising inbound interest.

Despite growing inbound interest, the team was losing potential tenants due to inconsistent engagement, delayed responses, and limited after-hours coverage. That changed with VerbaFlo.

Key Challenges Identified

• Fragmented Support Channels: Webchat was basic, WhatsApp follow-ups were manual, and phone lines were often overwhelmed.
• Inconsistent SLAs: Average response times exceeded hours during peak months, especially outside UK working hours.
• Human Bottlenecks: A lean sales team was juggling all inquiries across time zones.
• Lack of Insight: No central dashboard made it hard to track inquiry quality, staff productivity, or intent signals.

Despite a strong marketing engine and a growing interest from international students, Londonist struggled to convert that interest into bookings at scale.

After VerbaFlo – The Transformation

The system was trained on Londonist’s properties, tone, and common customer intents. No manual hand-holding was required. From day one, the AI captured lead details, reduced resolution time, and operated autonomously – day and night.

With all three channels connected to a single dashboard, Londonist’s team gained visibility into engagement patterns, lead volumes, and platform-level performance without switching tools or expanding headcount.

One AI System Across Three Channels – With Zero Downtime

In March 2025, Londonist integrated VerbaFlo’s conversational AI across three core touchpoints: webchat, WhatsApp, and voice. The rollout was designed to automate first-contact engagement, reduce pressure on human agents, and deliver a seamless user experience regardless of platform.

• Webchat AI instantly handled thousands of queries on rooms, pricing, availability, and FAQs—becoming the front line of on-site engagement.
• WhatsApp AI ensured mobile-first continuity—picking up web chats and guiding students through links, deposits, and document support.
• Voice AI was deployed to address call-based inquiries, providing intelligent responses and routing only the most complex queries to human agents.

The Outcome

3X More Leads, Higher Conversions, and No Operational Increase

What Stands Out

Lead-Gen Multiplier: VerbaFlo converted existing web traffic into more than triple the number of actionable inquiries, with no extra ad spend.

Always-On Engagement: Four out of five student conversations were solved end-to-end by AI, freeing agents to focus on high-value closings.

Revenue Lift Without Scale-Up Costs: Bookings rose by almost 50% with the current system, proving efficiency drove growth.

Zero Downtime, Zero Hand-Offs Lost: Every late-night or weekend inquiry was captured and nurtured instantly, something the previous setup simply couldn’t do.

AI That Learns With You

AI That Gets Better—Not Older

What set VerbaFlo apart was intelligence that evolves. The result? A system that doesn’t go stale. VerbaFlo becomes more aligned with your brand, more accurate with your students, and more valuable over time—just like a high-performing team member.

Adapts Fast. No Reprogramming Required.

Within weeks, the system adapted to handle region-specific queries (like visa requirements or local transport options), seasonal peaks, and even micro-frictions (e.g., confusing deposit clauses) without any manual reprogramming.

Learns Fast. Learns Continuously.

From day one, the system was trained on Londonist’s property catalogue, pricing tiers, booking policies, and customer tone. But it didn’t stop there. VerbaFlo’s AI uses a continuous learning loop, analysing every conversation to spot gaps, refine answers, and surface new patterns in student behaviour.

What This Signals for the Future

For accommodation brands facing tighter margins and rising student expectations, the takeaway is clear: automation is all about scale.

When AI resolves four out of five conversations unaided, teams can focus on strategic growth instead of inbox triage. And in a market where the first helpful response often wins, that edge compounds, property after property, intake after intake.

Londonist’s rapid gains prove that conversational AI is no longer a “nice to have” but a core revenue driver. By unifying chat, WhatsApp and voice under one engine, the operator unlocked round-the-clock engagement, slashed manual workload by 60%, and still lifted bookings by nearly 50%—all within a single quarter.

With data-rich dashboards now mapping intent in real time, Londonist can predict booking peaks, tailor promotions to live demand signals, and experiment with new journeys without extra operational cost.

Client Testimonial

“Partnering with VerbaFlo has been a game-changer for Londonist. Their AI platform seamlessly integrated into our sales and support channels, helping us capture 3x more leads and significantly lift conversions without adding operational overhead. The system's ability to handle the majority of student inquiries autonomously across webchat, WhatsApp, and voice has freed our team to focus on high-value interactions. Beyond just efficiency, VerbaFlo has become a true extension of our team, continuously learning and adapting to our business. It's been instrumental in scaling our engagement and driving revenue growth, especially during peak periods. With exciting ongoing developments, we’re thrilled to continue this journey and be part of shaping the future of AI-powered student engagement together.”

— Umang Gandecha, Executive Director, Londonist DMC