A Småland entrepreneur saw something no one else saw. A row of empty parking spaces in Östermalm became the starting point for a company that today is transforming the hotel industry across Europe. This is the story of how a problem as everyday as parking became a growing business idea.

It was an early morning in Östermalm. The asphalt was damp after the night's rain and the city had just begun putting on its weekday outfit. Per Gerleman was on a business trip to Stockholm and out on his early morning run. Between the office buildings stood rows of empty parking spaces, neatly locked behind barriers.

– I find it hard to run without thinking, he says. I just saw all those empty spaces and thought about how the evening before I'd been driving around for 45 minutes trying to find a spot — this was such a waste.

When he passed the same street again at lunch, all the spaces were full; a few hours later they would be empty again, but also completely inaccessible.

– At the same time I was thinking about hotel car parks sitting half-empty during the day and full at night. I remember thinking that it must be possible to share that, to make it smarter.

That was how the idea for Pair was born.

Per Gerleman grew up in Småland and has spent most of his professional life in the finance world — first as a bank manager at SEB, then as a business developer at Herenco. Always with an eye for what wasn't quite working as it should.

– I've probably always had the entrepreneurial gene. Seeing a problem and not being able to resist trying to solve it, and wondering whether the solution could be turned into a business.

From idea to prototype

The thought from that run took hold. If you could open the locked barriers digitally, with an app, the car parks could be used around the clock. Businesses during the day, hotel guests at night. That's where it all started.

In 2019 Pair was formed, initially as Pair Parking. A simple but smart service for matching available spaces with those who needed them.

– The name came from the word "pairing" — matching things together, explains Victor Wallin, who has worked with Per since his SEB days and is now Product Manager. We thought we'd become the parking equivalent of Airbnb.

The first few months were euphoric. The prototype worked, users came — but so did the pandemic.

– Suddenly nobody needed to park anymore. People were working from home, the streets were empty. Right then it could have been the end, says Victor.

But instead the pandemic became the turning point. The team started looking at other places where parking was a constant headache. And that's where the hotel industry appeared.

– Hotel receptions were spending an enormous amount of time on parking, says Per. Guests calling, emailing, staff writing notes. That's when we understood that what we'd built could solve something bigger.

When the first hotels tested the system, they quickly noticed the effect. Fewer calls, happier guests, simpler administration. Pair began to grow organically.

The first hotel customer became John Bauer Hotel in Jönköping. A symbolically perfect start: local, reassuring, and with an owner willing to try something new.

– It was really a "let's see how it goes" kind of thing, Per recalls.

Structure and organised chaos

Per speaks calmly and thoughtfully. There's something double about his manner — the steady banker and the restless entrepreneur. He doesn't talk "disruption" or "scaling", but more "improvement" and "growing organically".

– I've worked my whole life with structure, so it's in my DNA. But I enjoy the chaos of the early build. That thing about waking up in the middle of the night thinking: we should try this.

When he talks about Pair's early years, he keeps coming back to the same core idea — taking something invisible and making it meaningful.

– Parking isn't sexy, but it affects almost everyone. That's where our strength lies. We solve something very concrete, and we do it better than anyone else.

When the real journey began

Per remembers the launch day at John Bauer Hotel in Jönköping. It was there that Pair got its first real test and everything that had so far been an idea had to prove its worth.

– We'd tested the system on a smaller scale, but this was the first time it really mattered, says Per. I remember thinking: now everything just has to work.

The first booking went through without a problem. Then another. The receptionist smiled. Guests parked, paid, and checked in — without a single call about where to park.

– It was like watching cogs start turning, says Victor. Suddenly there was a flow. And that was exactly what we'd always talked about — creating movement without friction.

From basement office to chain agreements

After John Bauer, everything moved quickly. The company grew, more people were hired. The good reputation spread — first in Småland, then across all of Sweden.

– We still had no real office, says Victor. We sat in a room without windows but we had ideas in abundance.

When Strawberry got in touch, they took the meeting without hesitation. Pair got a chance to show off their system and took it.

– It was almost unreal, says Per. A small company from Jönköping, four people, standing there talking about guest experience with one of Scandinavia's largest hotel groups.

The result was a Preferred Supplier agreement with Strawberry, and shortly afterwards the big breakthrough — the framework agreement with Scandic.

– It was almost comical, says Magnus Kleist, CSO. Our little company won tenders against companies with ten thousand employees.

When "we'll fix it" became a culture

Success didn't bring corporate gloss — quite the opposite. Pair continued working like an expedition team. Julius Selle Larsson, COO, tells of nights on the road, driving back and forth across the country to get the system working at new customers.

– We got a bug in the chargers, he recalls. So we divided the country between us, packed our cars and headed off in different directions to update them manually.

He laughs.

– It wasn't particularly efficient, maybe, but it showed who we were. No problem is too small, no journey too long.

Today that motto is almost carved into the walls at the Jönköping office. "We'll fix it." It's as much a working philosophy as a survival strategy.

When hotel chains became partners

After the Nordics came the next chapter. DoubleTree by Hilton – Tower of London became the first international customer. Josh Stafford, who leads operations in the UK, remembers seeing the reception desk for the first time.

– They were still writing registration numbers on paper that was printed out and kept at the reception, he says. A full A3 sheet covered in registration numbers and names.

Grace Eyles, the front desk manager, became their first ambassador in the UK.

– She called me after a few weeks and said: "You have no idea how much time this saves us." That's when we understood that this could fly outside the Nordics too, says Magnus.

Since then Pair has grown across Europe, but the tone is the same: pragmatic, Småland-rooted, warm.

– We don't sell technology, says Magnus. We sell time, a calmer working environment for hotel staff, and better guest experiences. And increased revenue as a bonus.

From London to the continent

After DoubleTree came enquiries from France, Spain, Germany and Poland. It rolled along quickly.

– We only had a Swedish website, says Per. But when someone at Hilton says "this works", people listen.

– Our expansion began with trust.

The quiet logistics

There is a particular kind of silence in hotel car parks in the early morning. A mixture of stillness and logistics. Cars that have just left, others yet to arrive. For Pair it has become a familiar rhythm.

– There is something beautiful about places that exist only between people's movements, says Per. That's where Pair belongs.

From the head office in Jönköping, the network now stretches across the Nordics and into Europe: Hilton in London, Barceló in Spain, Holiday Inn in Germany and Poland. It started with a single running step in Östermalm. Now it's tens of thousands of guest steps every day.

The future is already here

Ask what comes next and Per goes quiet for a moment. Then he smiles.

– We're expanding across all of Europe. Then it'll be the US.

It's about growing without losing that feeling of closeness and service. Support remains. Development too. New markets will come, but not at the expense of the human element.

Pair is a tech company, but the feel for service and customer experience is just as strong as in a hotel.

– We work in hospitality and will continue to be the ones you can actually reach, who fix every problem when it comes up, says Per. That's part of our brand.