About Us

Local Bigwig provides an easy, free, and secure way
to search and book vetted furnished monthly home rentals.

We have aggregated corporate housing and extended-stay providers on one platform, so you can compare all of the options on one website and book it online.

We were tired of hearing horror stories about friends being scammed when finding an extended-stay furnished apartment in New York City. We wanted to do something about it, and we strongly feel that our team has what it takes to make this process as easy, transparent and fair as possible.

The "wig" in "Local Bigwig" is short for "wigwam" - the inspiration for our company's name. Wigwams are the dwellings of the Lenape ("people" in their language), the original locals of New York City. By referring to big wigwams, we convey that our site is about homes, the foundation for a comfortable and genuine local experience. Read more about naming >>>

Local Bigwig Inc. is headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan. We are proud to be part of the NYU-Poly Business Development Program which is jointly supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's NYC Economic Development Corporation, the Real Estate Division of Trinity Church, and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University.

Local Bigwig is a booking website for extended-stay furnished home rentals around the world.

Our Bigwig Mission Is To:

Aggregate all of the corporate housing and extended-stay providers on one platform to give guests an easy, free, and secure way to search and book monthly home rentals wherever they may need one. Similar to how Booking.com, Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz are aggregating all hotels (<30 day stays), we are doing the same for extended-stay (1-12 month stays) housing options that have not made their way to any booking website before we came around.
Vet our hosts and home rental listings as well as monitor communications and transactions on our site. We plan to keep our standards high when it comes to the integrity of our hosts and the quality of the corporate housing and extended-stay home rental listings on our site.
Encourage transparent communications between guests and corporate housing providers. We need everyone to feel very comfortable with their interactions on our site.
Make the payment process as clear and pain-free as possible.
Produce insightful content to assist you with living your life. We know the challenges that comes with living in temporary accommodations. We are committed to finding the best tips to make the experience more enjoyable.

Ray Madronio
Co-Founder and CEO

Ray bought his first rental property at the age of 22 and has managed to build his portfolio of rental properties in both California and New York in the 2 decades that followed. Prior to Local Bigwig, he gained several years of experience specifically in the extended stay furnished rental business in NYC and is now determined to build the best site for furnished rentals for the US and beyond. He attended the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for Business Administration, Stanford University for Advanced Project Management, and Columbia Business School for an MBA. He is also a certified real estate salesperson in the State of New York.

Sami Begg
Co-Founder and CTO

With years of experience at Oracle and Compuware, Sami has deep experience building technology solutions from the ground up and a proven ability to lead a team through all lifecycles of a project to successfully deliver applications. He went to Kettering University for Computer Science, George Washington University for an MS in Software Engineering, and Columbia Business School for an MBA.

Guests Hosts

Philip - The Guest

Philip, a Swiss engineer and Co-Founder of LocalUncle, found his apartment with a breathtaking view of New York skyscrapers through Local Bigwig. He could easily find and book a furnished apartment from overseas.

Sasha - The Guest

Sasha is a professional photographer who frequently travels for work. When she is in NYC, she taps into the Local Bigwig community of quality furnished home rentals for temporary accommodations.

Susan - The Guest

Susan talks about how Local Bigwig can be beneficial when someone is moving to a new city. She likes the flexibility that the furnished monthly home rentals offer.

Dotty - The Host

Dotty has had great experience renting out her 3BR/2BA coastal house in Encinitas, CA, through Local Bigwig. Her home has a ton of charm and she exudes so much warmth and positivity.

Cheryl - The Host

Like many other hosts on our site, Cheryl is passionate about meeting and interacting with international guests. She warmly welcomed us and talked about Local Bigwig and her spacious apartment in Brooklyn.

Ariel - The Host

Ariel discusses how Local Bigwig helps NYC-based actors sublet their place to quality guests while they are away for touring shows and regional productions.

About Us

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