SnappStay Launches Short-Term Rental Platform

SnappStay officially launched its short-term rental platform Friday (March 14).

The company aims to compete with other vacation rental platforms by offering a user-friendly interface, a streamlined booking process, and lower fees that enable guests to pay less and property owners to keep more of their earnings, according to a Friday press release.

“As a host myself, I saw firsthand the challenges of high service fees cutting into earnings,” SnappStay founder and CEO Patrick Davis said in the release. “We created SnappStay to provide a fair and transparent marketplace where homeowners can maximize their revenue, and travelers can book accommodations without unnecessary costs.”

The SnappStay app is now live on the Google Play store and Apple’s App Store, and the platform has listings in New York, Paris, London, Dubai and Sydney, according to the release.

Short-term rental platform Airbnb said in February that it is investing in refining its mobile app, streamlining the booking process and offering a more tailored experience.

“We want the Airbnb app to be similar to Amazon, in that you only need one place to go,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Feb. 13 during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “We’re going to start with things adjacent to travel. This goes along with our product optimization. We have 5 billion visitors a year to Airbnb. It’s important they can find the right Airbnb for them.”

Hostaway said in December that it secured a $365 million strategic growth investment to expand its vacation rental software and management system designed for short-term rental property owners and managers.

Hostaway said at the time that its platform supports customers with properties in more than 90 countries; provides a property management system and two-way API connection to major online travel agencies; and offers an integrated marketplace that provides access to vacation rental software and tools from more than 200 partners.

In April, Guesty raised $130 million in a Series F funding round to expand the capabilities and global footprint of its property management software platform for the short-term rental and hospitality industry.

Guesty said at the time that it operates in 80 countries and serves a variety of short-term rental hosts, including enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and individuals.