The legendary hotel chain Hyatt Hotels are branching out into home rentals by investing in a startup called onefinestay. The startup specializes in providing a platform for people to rent private luxury homes. For Hyatt Hotels Corp., this investment marks a way to fulfill the needs of consumers who would rather rent a home than stay in a hotel room. It is rare to see a hotel operator pairing with a home rental company.
This particular investment by Hyatt Hotels into London’s onefinestay is rumored to have been a $40 million round raised back at the end of 2014. The details came to light last week. The startup has been in operation since 2010.
Currently, onefinestay has 2,500 homes in its portfolio and together those residences amount to $5 million. The homes are located in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and London. The CEO of the startup, Greg Marsh, has not commented on the partnership with Hyatt. A spokesperson for the hotel chain has said about the collaboration that it will “continue to test a variety of offerings” and “work with a number of companies” to strengthen guest experiences.
This step towards bridging home rental agencies and hotel companies may have been a long time coming. Reportedly, Marriott International Inc., for example, has been keeping a close eye on home rental operations. Other hotel businesses may follow suit with similar partnerships to the one Hyatt has formed with onefinestay.
What makes onefinestay worthy of the investment? Perhaps it is that the average cost of a home it manages is $2 million. As well, it provides renters with long-term stay options such as several weeks or even months at a time. This is a longer stay than typically one would expect from a hotel room. Plus, onefinestay provides fresh towels and sheets, as well as an iPhone that comes with apps recommending local eateries, shops, and other must-see locations.