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by pisarzp 4495 days ago
It's cool, but there is another real problem with renting out flats on airbnb.

Many people want to rent a flat they live in, only when they are away. However, they struggle to organize cleaning, keys, change of linens etc.

We are actually building a service to help them and launching soon in London. Contact me if you want to hear more and potentially try it soon.
3 comments
larrys 4495 days ago
"However, they struggle to organize cleaning, keys, change of linens etc."

Sounds like something that YC backed homejoy could get involved in solving. That's my keiretsu of the day. [1]

https://www.homejoy.com/about

[1] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1998/...

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amiadsoto 4495 days ago
We like Homejoy and we use their service with some of our customers. The problem is that this isn't a complete solution and even though it is the sexy part it's not even the most time consuming.
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pisarzp 4495 days ago
We would like to offer more holistic solution, which includes even things like sending you photos of the flat after check out so you're sure your flat is OK and nothing is missing.

Plus we would take care of liaising with guests etc, so it's less hassle for you. All you would do is just approve guests in airbnb.

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jamiequint 4495 days ago
On the high-end for this there is One Fine Stay which is awesome, are you guys going to make this possible for less expensive places?
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pisarzp 4495 days ago
We want to target airbnb users, because this is where most of transactions are happening, and this is where it's easiest to rent out your flat if you're the host.

We are aiming to offer you a full service, which consists of welcoming guests in the flat, giving them keys, and then checkout plus cleaning for about 60 pounds.

From my experience for many people this is worth cost as otherwise you are just unable to rent out a flat, and this fee is less then one night in flat in London.

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danoprey 4494 days ago
60 quid sounds very reasonable for that service. Getting someone over there to wait until they turn up and getting cleaners in and out quickly would be impressive for that price.
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amiadsoto 4495 days ago
I feel that the problem with One Fine Stay is it's just too pricy. Most people who Airbnb do it for the extra income. Giving 20%! doesn't make a lot of sense.
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jamiequint 4494 days ago
20% for full service management on-demand is a bargain if you compare it to the cost of what vacation rental full-service management goes for which is usually closer to 30% and requires signing a longer-term contract.

The fact that they can provide it for that low of margin is actually pretty impressive.

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cylinder 4495 days ago
You mean a maid. Or a property manager.
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pisarzp 4494 days ago
Yes. Only that we want to target people who are not renting their flat 'professionally', but only when they are away from their own home. This people don't have property managers and many of them don't have maids. And even if they have a maid, she might not be able to let people into the property or do the checkout.
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