You’d like nothing more than to dip in cool water in this scorching summer heat. The only problem? The public pool is too busy or a trip to the beach is simply not possible. Fortunately, there’s now a way for you and your family to enjoy the comforts of a pool in Ascot or elsewhere in Brisbane, in a private home of your choosing, via a pool-sharing app called Swimply.
Since its late November launch in Australia, Swimply has come to be regarded as the AirBnB for pools. The latest innovation in the sharing economy platform, Swimply affords groups the opportunity to book a few hours of someone’s private pool, whilst also letting pool owners earn some cash for their unused pools.
How Swimply Started
Swimply is the brainchild of 23-year-old Bunim Laskin of the United States. In 2017, he was inspired to create a pool-sharing app, after negotiating a successful agreement with a New York neighbour who hardly used their pool. Coming from a large family, Bunim arranged for him and his brothers and sisters to use the pool in exchange for contributing to its upkeep and maintenance expenses.
Mr Larkin had had a goal to make the pool experience accessible and affordable for all. The app quickly made waves, especially in states with warmer climates like California, Florida and Texas.
Swimply’s chief marketing officer Asher Weinberger then travelled to Australia to look into the market’s potential and was encouraged by the feedback from the industry.
Pool Ownership in Australia
Research from Roy Morgan shows that pool ownership has increased in Australia in the last three years. Now, 13 percent or 2.7 million Australians have a swimming pool in their house.
The average cost of pool maintenance is about $1,000 to $1,500 a year. However, Swimply learned that most pool owners averagely use their pools about 15 percent of the time. Renting out the facility could make pool ownership a better investment.
How Swimply Operates
Currently, Swimply has 29 pool listings in the Brisbane area.
Pools listed on the app initially have to undergo a thorough inspection by Poolwerx to ensure compliance with the local health and safety standards. Once verified, pool owners have full control over the listing and could even set their personal rules or exercise their right to refuse a would-be renter.
Swimply has a team in charge of host care. They guide pool owners into the process, including setting up the price points for the facility they’d like to rent out. As a commission, the company takes 15 percent of the fee
Much like the AirBnB model, the hosts and guests are also rated and those with a rating below four stars are removed from the platform. This guarantees the security and quality of the transactions.
Swimply is available for both iOS and Android users.