The phrase that Swimply wants associated with their company is “escape locally.” And that’s what many people who use the Swimply app are doing. Also known as “The Airbnb for swimming pools,” Swimply allows pool owners to list their pool for rent by the hour and for guests to rent them. And the company wants to go beyond pools. Soon you’ll be able to use Swimply for any number of spaces in your neighborhood.
Solving a summertime problem
The idea for Swimply started as a very local problem. In 2018, co-founder Asher Weinberger had recently bought a home on Long Island, NY with a pool. His family wanted to spend the summer there and Weinberger was happy to oblige — but scheduling became a problem. He wanted a platform where his family and friends could book a time and that also included insurance coverage, but such a platform didn’t exist. His co-founder Bunim Laskin had the opposite experience where he was lacking a pool and had recently given his neighbor some money for the use of her pool for the summer. Laskin convinced Weinberger there was a way to monetize pools on a large scale.
“It was really just trying to solve personal problems on both sides of the marketplace,” Weinbergers explains.
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So in 2019, they started the company. They launched in the Tri-state area with the express purpose of learning how the app would work on a larger scale. In 2020, they rebuilt the app and prepared to launch nationwide.
Then COVID hit and everyone went back indoors. However, the founders went for it.
“We decided to throw a Hail Mary pass,” Weinberger remembers. “We hired a communications freelancer to try to push the story–Hey it’s COVID. Here’s a great way to have a contactless experience and be safe outdoors. And we got a couple of stories and the company just blew up.”
The company went from two people sitting on their couch in isolation to a company of almost 100 people, operating in three countries.
Now they’re looking to expand beyond pools.
“We have hosts who had lost their retirement accounts or their jobs and now, in some cases, they’re making six figure incomes from their pool. We had guests who were stuck at home. No where to go. No camp. No school. Working from home. And we were offering a really unique opportunity to in a safe way be outdoors and spend time with the people you love.”
Asher Weinberger
Community building through spaces
Weinberger says that COVID opened up consumers’ minds to new possibilities and opportunities that are local and don’t require travel. People are now more aware of the amazing things in their own neighborhoods.
“People have all kinds of things on their property that are underutilized and often expensive to maintain. Or people feel are not being shared enough,” Weinberger states.
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Here’s where the company is hoping to expand beyond swimming pools. It’s called Swimply Spaces and it’s about connecting people with spaces that can help them grow their passions. For example, say someone has a woodworking shop that they don’t always use. They could list the shop on Swimply to a local woodworker, making them some money and helping someone in need of a particular space.
Some spaces Swimply hopes people will rent out include:
- Tennis courts
- Yoga studios
- Home gyms
- Recording studios
- Home theaters
- Gourmet kitchens
It’s all about connecting people with the spaces they need. But Weinberger also believes that the company is more than just matching people with spaces — they’re making community connections. Because in these transactions, you will also meet the owner of these spaces and you can talk about your shared passion. It’s a way to build communities.
Swimply pool rentals
At the moment though, Swimply pool rentals are the company’s primary focus. After their initial success in the Tri-state area, they are now renting out pools nation-wide as well as in Canada and Australia. A lot of the rentals are from large cities in Southern California and New York. But they are also seeing a lot of growth in the South, especially Texas and Florida.
“Florida is this sort of fascinating state,” Weinberger remarks, “It’s changing so fast.”
Florida is becoming a city of early adopters, meaning when a new startup presents a unique opportunity, Floridians are ready to act. There are already Swimply pool rental listings in the Tampa Bay area and for those that are interested, the company is ready to help.
Weinberger says the best Swimply hosts are the ones who get educated. They work with Swimply to optimize their listings and build out their calendars. They are vigilant about hygiene and use the money they make from the app to update their hardware and poolside aesthetics. Weinberger says the company is more than just a way to make connections between neighbors, it also allows people to make their pool work for them.
“Every single pool is essentially its own business. And our hosts are promoting themselves. A great host is one that will find ways locally to market themselves.”
So for those with pools in the Tampa Bay area, this could be the year you open for business.