No need to own a pool to beat the summer heat – rent it!
Swimply is a matchmaker putting the owner of an underused, private pool in touch with someone in need of a summer cooldown swim.
Renting pools can help you beat the summer heat
Swimply Founder Bunim Laskin talks about how he created a business to help people rent their pools during the hot summer months and some pools year round.
Your own pool is no longer out of your price range. Whether you don't have the space, the desire to clean it or even the funds to build one, one company helps you beat the summer heat all by the click of a button.
Swimply works with owners to rent out their pools. The site is a matchmaker putting the owner of an underused pool in touch with someone in need of a refreshing dip.
A rental pool offered through Simply.
(Swimply)
"Originally that the vision was to have your pool pay for itself. And so people were going to [collect] $2,000 or $3,000 a summer," said Bunim Laskin, CEO and co-founder of Swimply. "But now the brand and the company has taken a life of its own. And we have owners earning over six figures a year sharing their backyard with families and neighbors in their community, which is quite incredible."
Laskin came up with the idea in 2018 when his neighbor kept complaining about how expensive it was to maintain the pool that she built for her grandkids but stayed empty most of the time. So, he and his co-founder started knocking on doors.
Rental pool.
(Swimply)
"Using Google Earth we went [. . .] looking for big blue spots from the sky. We knocked on 80 doors in the neighborhood, got kicked out of 76 of them," Asher Weinberger, co-founder and COO of Swimply told FOX Business. "But we did get four pools to sign up and within weeks we had a thousand swimmers swimming in strangers' pools."
You may have seen Laskin pitch Swimply on Shark Tank but the investors never bit at his Airbnb for pools idea in 2019. While the sharks weren't swimming, Laskin did find other investors.
The Swimply app.
The company now offers pools across 130 U.S. cities and three in Canada. Basic pools start at $15 an hour while infinity pools with views can ask for up to $100 per hour. Owners set the price and charge extra for amenities like bathroom use. Swimply even offers owners a service to drop off a porta-potty at the pool and clean and restock it once a week.
"And so with a lot of extra amenities, owners are given the ability to offer you towels, barbecue grills," said Laskin. "Some even have really other cool experiences like sunset with champagne or even a magic show for an additional $20 an hour."
Families rent pools for parties. Swim instructors rent pools for lessons. Some pools are even pet friendly.
A rental pool with backyard playset.
The website says most hosts are home while renting their pool, but it is not a requirement.
Swimply has plans to expand beyond just pools – tennis courts, backyards, docked boats, private gyms, farms and rooftops.
"We have a vision to democratize luxury," said Laskin. "We really believe that every passion needs space… essentially anything that's owned by few and desired by many.. [we make] these kinds of experiences available for everyone to enjoy."