Swimply Inc., a platform that connects homeowners and customers for short-term rentals of amenities such as pools and tennis courts, is expanding its offerings to full-home rentals.
Swimply also executed a smaller series of changes at the end of last year, including a move from West Hollywood to Venice in November and the addition of a new chief executive. Bunim Laskin, who co-founded the company in 2019, stepped down from the role and was replaced by Swimply’s previous chief operating officer, Derek Callow, in mid-December. Laskin is staying on and will join his co-founder, Asher Weinberger, as a board member.
The company’s new offering allows customers to browse from a selection of properties to rent by the hour, with pricing set by the hosts and depending on factors such as the home’s amenities, size, location and the number of guests in a party. Callow said that after initially launching as a pool rental platform, and after adding rental options for recreational sport courts last summer, Swimply expanded to short-term full-home rentals based on feedback from hosts. The home-rental option is currently available in Los Angeles only, while the company’s other rental services boast more than 25,000 listings across the U.S., Canada and Australia. Callow said the platform’s biggest markets are Los Angeles, Austin, New York and Portland, Oregon.
“Swimply is very much about being ‘by neighbors, for neighbors,’ and L.A. is incredible, but it’s not always swimming weather,” Callow said. “We noticed this great (growth) when we expanded into tennis, pickleball and basketball courts, and backyards have always been on our platform, so indoor spaces was a logical extension.”
Callow said the short-term home rental option has been used for purposes such as wedding proposals, corporate retreats for companies, dinner parties and family gatherings. Swimply’s home-rental offering differs from that of AirBnb Inc., he added, because of Swimply’s “by…
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