Short-term holiday lets platform Your.Rentals is raising on the crowdfunding site Seedrs as it seeks to expand its reach in the UK, raising some £1.3 million so far.
The Copenhagen-based company, which is headed up by founder Andrew Martyn (main picture), hosts 5,000 active customers on its site and has 18,000 properties to rent throughout Europe.
It helps small landlords and hosts compete with large well-funded competitors by managing their marketing, bookings, operations and payments in one place.
Hosts' rental properties are listed on more than 30 sites while its vacation rental management software updates availability across each one when a booking is made.
The platform handles booking support, guest liaison and enquiries, as well as collecting payment from guests which it processes securely and sends to hosts. Rental fees are aligned with the host's revenue and there is a 5% service fee instead of a subscription fee.
UK units on the platform currently make up less than 5% of its inventory, but this territory is experiencing a period of immense growth in terms of short-term rental demand, Martyn tells LandlordZONE.
'That's why Your.Rentals sees the opportunity in the UK market,' he explains.
'We confidently plan to triple the number of our units within the next year and a half. We're raising on Seedrs because it allows the hosts and property managers from around Europe who use Your.Rentals to invest in our growth plan.'
He believes property ownership, long-term rentals and short-term rentals can happily co-exist.
'Regulation can play a role in creating such balance, however in some cases it becomes a political issue which ends up in short-sighted regulations - Scotland provides a case in point,' adds marketing and communications head, Vivian Chin (pictured).
'By overly taxing or placing restrictions on short-term rentals, not only are short-term rental managers impacted, many other businesses that rely on tourism will face the consequences.'
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