← Back to Journal

We’re bringing Outsite to the Azores. Here’s what it means for São Miguel and beyond.

Miloš Pelucha · Thu Oct 15 2026

We’re bringing Outsite to the Azores. Here’s what it means for São Miguel and beyond.

I first started toying with the idea of opening a coliving/coworking space 4 years ago.

I've lived in coliving spaces for over 2 years, from chain-operated places like Selina to small, independently run coliving spaces.

As a resident who truly enjoyed 99% of his stays, I felt that opening one was a “natural step.” And as the saying we have amongst the global colivers goes, at any given time at any given coliving - there is a resident who wants to open a coliving.

But what comes when the coliving is operating and established? The change from founder to an operator is a significant one.

For many people, myself included, building is the fun part; it might feel like chewing glass at first, but it’s fun. You have a vision that you want to bring to life, and everything you do is to achieve it.

You choose a destination, a town, a building.

You wake up every morning chasing one thing and one thing only, following your vision. But once it’s said and done, a different set of skills and priorities are needed.

Here’s a short timeline of our project:

I wrote more about our difficult first years in my inaugural piece for The Extended Stay.

As I’m writting this in October 2026, 40% of our occupancy right now is returned guests from June earlier this year.

The idea of LemonBros coliving space was always aligned with what the destination has to offer - high-quality living.

This month, the LemonBros are passing the keys to our house to Outsite. The house now runs as Outsite Ribeira Grande.

Founded in Santa Cruz, California, in 2015, Outsite runs 50+ coliving spaces with 5,000+ members, ten of them in Portugal (Lisbon, Ericeira, Cascais, the Algarve, Madeira). Members pay for access to the network and move between houses.

The US is Outsite's largest market, and the Azores is the closest piece of Europe to the US East Coast.

We believe that our pioneering work on the island - partnered with Outsite’s global branding, distribution reach, and shoulder-season demand is the perfect fit for the Azores going forward.

Below is why I think the Azores is ready for a lot more remote workers, and why we decided someone else should be the one to bring them.

Thanks for reading The Extended Stay! Subscribe for free to receive updates on the remote work economy weekly.

Operating a coliving space in a land unknown

Azores have never been too much of a touristy hot spot. The archipelago (consists of 9 islands) received around 1.4-1.5 million visitors in 2025. To compare the tourism volume with their Macaronesian island neighbors, that’s roughly 40% of Madeira’s number (2.5 million) and about 17-18x less than the Canary Islands (18million).

We’re bringing Outsite to the Azores. Here’s what it means for São Miguel and beyond.

This might have been both - a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because there weren’t many other operators on the island, and a curse, because the destination simply isn’t well known in the circles of our ideal buyers.

While tourism saw some growth in the late 2010s and early 2020s as more international airlines started flying routes to the Azores, the past 12 months have done the opposite. Local government fell out with Ryanair who stopped flying to the Azores, resulting in roughly 400,000 less seats. No replacement was found.

The ongoing process of privatization and sales of Azores Airlines, the international part of Sata Holding, that operates flights to international destinations like Bermuda, NYC, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Barcelona, Paris, or Frankfurt, just adds to uncertainty.

Despite all of this and some negative numbers being reported, the island felt very vibrant, busy, and bustling all summer season.

And so did our community.

LemonBros is a project of three friends; one of our co-founders, Charles, also co-owns another co-living space on the island, Dwell Azores.

This made it easier for us to build a shared community between both spaces. People could change their workspace from time to time and join events and activities at both places. Sunset barbecues, sauna sessions, group runs, pizza nights, and so much more. If you’ve followed our journey, you've seen it on our socials.

But running a community-first hospitality product also comes at a cost. The time cost, especially, is a big one. There’s never really a stop to your work; you’re always present, and things come at you left and right.

I have long been thinking about how the potential of the Azores could grow further, but it was difficult to find time for anything new.

Until we heard from the Outsite team. Even though none of us had ever thought about this possibility, after more and more talks with Emmanuel, Anthony, and the team, it started to make sense.

We designed our coliving space with a clear purpose - to serve people who are looking to combine a quality lifestyle with productivity.

  1. Fresh local food that powered our family dinners. Be it local beef, some of the best tuna in Europe, or an abundance of fruit.

  2. Outdoor activities like hiking, surfing, trail running, and spearfishing.

  3. Wellness & relaxation like sauna and ocean dips and, most importantly, connections that are meaningful and last.

Three friends with other jobs can fill one house. Putting the Azores on the radar of remote workers in New York, Boston, and Toronto takes a network. That’s the part we’re passing on.

Why the Azores have large untapped potential

Portugal has been growing steadily as a popular expat, nomad, and tourism destination. While other areas in Portugal like Lisbon, Porto, Algarve, or Madeira have been on the radar of many nomads because of the lifestyle, great weather, and surf.

But the Azores have always been their own thing. I love to highlight the many weird things that have happened on this archipelago.

From Columbus’s detention on his return to Europe to serving as a backup NASA space shuttle landing site, there are so many fascinating stories. In 1957, a volcanic eruption forced many locals to emigrate to the US, supported by a refugee pact championed by a young Massachusetts senator, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Today, more than 1 million Americans and 500,000 Canadians claim Azorean roots. This diaspora continues to shape the islands, including their tourism strategy. With around 25 direct flights a week to North America, connecting the Azores with cities like New York, Toronto, Boston, and Montreal, travelling west can feel almost easier than travelling east.

It makes the islands an attractive European destination without the long-haul travel and jet lag often associated with crossing the Atlantic.

We’re bringing Outsite to the Azores. Here’s what it means for São Miguel and beyond.
International connections to the Azores

Future nomad hub?

It might seem obvious to us that this island is the right play for nomads. But hear this out:

Outside of the obvious, there is just something specific to life in the Azores. Similarly to how Italians enjoy their dolce vita, or Spaniards their siesta, the Azores are a way of life.

It’s also a place on an upward trajectory. Every few months there is a new restaurant, new café, new third space, or a brand opening. That gives you the feeling of being present at a place that’s figuring out how to grow.

We have been able to build nice relationships with many small businesses on the island. From Sunset Bar at our doorstep, the largest gin collection and library in the world, to a family-owned sourdough bakery, a local clothing brand, surf schools, and much more.

These are the people who make me believe that São Miguel and the Azores only have a bright future ahead.

What happens to the community now

If you’re an operator, you’re probably asking what our returning guests asked: what happens to the vibe when a brand takes over? Fair question.

Together with the Outsite team, we have worked on finding a Community manager. Their extensive experience in operating around the world, paired with our local expertise, helped us to find someone who we believe is the right person to carry on the torch. That also includes an ongoing engagement with our local small business, communities, and organizations.

Why we believe the Outsite partnership is the right approach

We started this business because we all believe in this lifestyle. We all wanted to create spaces where more like-minded people can get together and grow.

At the end of the day, we all have other things going on in our lives and want to pursue other passions too. The partnership with Outsite came to fruition very naturally.

It aligns with our idea of a shared, broader community of nomads in the Azores. We believe their members from all around the world, but mostly those from Europe and North America, will be pleased to have another location in their portfolio. Outsite’s locations in the US & Portugal will make it very convenient to move between the locations and explore different destinations.

We also believe that their vast experience, brand recognition, and distribution channels make them capable of putting Azores on the map for more nomads, remote workers, and the globally mobile workforce.

Outsite also understands the trends in the remote work ecosystem, tourism and health. Their focus on wellness features makes it a natural fit with our property as well as Azores as a destination.

If you’ve followed my story, you know how much effort went into this project. And while there is an obvious sadness in letting things go and closing one door, it provides space for what’s next. And I’m getting very excited about the latter.

Thank you to everyone who ever booked their stay at LemonBros, followed us on our Instagram, or gave us any support or advice during our time. Your belief in us helped us make our dream a reality. We’ll never take that for granted.

Milos

We’re bringing Outsite to the Azores. Here’s what it means for São Miguel and beyond.
Charles, Miloš, Christian - the team behind the LemonBros Azores.

Thanks for reading The Extended Stay! Subscribe for free to receive updates on the remote work economy weekly.

P.S. Outsite members: your first week in Ribeira Grande is free.

Read the original on Substack →

Related articles