| Swimply | |
| Type: | Private |
| Industry: | Online marketplace |
| Headquarters: | Los Angeles |
Swimply is an online marketplace for renting private swimming pools, sport courts, and houses by the hour. Owners can list amenities (such as pools, music studios, pickleball courts, gyms, etc) located on their property or entire houses for hourly rentals to individuals or groups. Reservations are made via the Swimply mobile app for Android or iPhone or via the company's website. Communication with guests, selection of amenities, and payment are all handled through the Swimply platform.[1] Swimply currently operates in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Founder Bunim Laskin came up with the idea for the app at the age of 20, after noticing a neighbor's pool which was rarely in use.[2] He rented their pool in exchange for assistance paying for the pool's upkeep.[3] He then realized that he might have a scalable business plan and began finding other neighbor's pools using Google Earth's satellite photos. Launching as Swimply (swimming and simply), he soon had over 30 pools listed, 400 reservations and was featured on MSNBC. By the end of the year he dropped out of college to pursue the business full-time.[4] [5]
In November 2019, Swimply expanded to Australia.[6]
Laskin appeared on a March 13, 2020 episode of Shark Tank pitching an investment opportunity in his company.[7] [8] All Sharks declined.[9] Asher Weinberger (former COO) later claimed the Sharks declined his offer partly due to the pandemic and the country going into lockdown.
Laskin received $30,000 from family and friends, followed by $1,200,000 in an initial seed round.[10] [11] Another round of funding fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the company did see a 4000% increase in revenue[12] during 2020. In 2021, Swimply closed a $10 million Series A round in 2021 led by Norwest Venture Partners.
The round was followed on by Trust Ventures and other notable angels, including Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra and Ancestry.com CEO Debora Liu.
Swimply follows a similar pricing model to Airbnb, where commission fees are incurred both on the host and guest side.[13] Hourly rentals start at $20 per hour in most markets[14] [15]
As of 2023, Swimply no longer provides a liability insurance policy. Swimply now provides a "host guarantee" of $2 million that is self funded and $10,000 of property protection for hosts inside the United States.[1] Swimply requires pool owners to have their pools inspected for health and safety including inspection of tiles and chlorine levels.[16]