Startup Model – Home Swapping Community

THE MODEL: A home swapping community platform for members. Members can share their homes to other members looking for a place to stay in exchange for points. These points can then be used by that member for staying at another member’s property. Hence the swapping is non-mutual and flexible.  

STARTUP: Trampolinn (French startup)

WHAT I LIKE

Core Idea – Home swapping between users helps build a strong community and saves money for them.

Benefits to Users – Members of the community can share their homes to earn points which can be redeemed when they require a place to stay. This saves money on accommodation, which is a major expense during any travel plan. Also a member can travel like a local with the help of the host.

Ease of Use – Members looking to share their homes can simply create a profile for it and start sharing to earn points. Members looking for a place can browse through the different options and make contact and finalise on the platform itself.

Influencer Marketing – The startup is looking for people from all over the world to become ‘Ambassadors’. Their responsibility will be to spread word about the concept, get coverage, organize events and so on. The startup is offering them special points and access to the most popular properties on the platform.

Trust & Security – This is a big problem in the house swapping business. The startup uses online security for its website and also does multiple security checks of its members to address security issues during any home stay. Users are also advised to by a insurance plan, specifically designed for the housing exchange market.

CONCERNS

Competition – Housing exchange has emerged as a big market with some well established startups in it. For them to develop a points system may not be that difficult to execute.