Revolut Homes: has anyone tried it?

[Huma0]

So, I just happened to stumble on this article from October: https://www.cityam.com/revolut-launches-homes-feature-to-take-on-airbnb/

I had no idea that Revolut was venturing into this market. I had a quick look on the App and website, but couldn't see any information for hosts about listing (and only very basic info for guests) and the people I have asked who use the App didn't know about it either. I also did a very quick search on listings in London and the results were not exactly what I was expecting. Plus, several of the listings were tagged as VRBO, so I don't know what kind of partnership is going on there, if any, or if you can just transfer over your listing info from VRBO, in the way you can transfer your Airbnb info/photos/reviews to Houfy.

Has anyone given this a try, and how have you found it?

[Huma0]

I should also mention that Revolut previously launched 'Stays', but that I think was more hotels, resorts etc. not actual houses and apartments.

Plus, from what I can see, Revolut Homes is supposed to offer rooms in shared spaces. But, when I did my quick search, I couldn't see any homeshares. It was mostly private, studio style rooms, e.g. with kitchenette in blocks dedicated to this purpose, like student accommodation.

[Helen3]

Sorry never heard of them. Are they just covering London. What sort of pricing model do they have @Huma0 

[Huma0]

@Helen3 

So, Revolut is huge. It's a fintech company, so basically about handling/managing money. I've been meaning to sign up for ages as it's useful when you travel because you can really save on foreign exchange/commissions. According to the article I linked, it's got 20 million users.

However, I had no idea that they had ventured into the accommodation market, and especially not into STR. I think they do flight booking as well. I am not sure. And I am not sure if that many of their users know about it. Seems they did quite a soft launch.

I have no idea RE the pricing model as I couldn't find anything on the app or website with info for hosts, how to list etc. 

[Frances3408]

@Huma0. I'd be very careful about using a fintech that seems to have so many irons in the fire: its also into crypto and this is I think at least its 4th different business launch for 2022. The fact that there isnt much information may mean it may be a while away from building the infrastucture.

However, these days its pretty easy to screen scrape/data mine enough info from platforms like Airbnb, then add an ability to have you join them for "free" by adding a direct booking button, with suggested direct pricing (amongst other platform options). The 4 per cent cashback they offer might just really be splitting the commission from such leads, knowing what the other platforms charge. Found my listing on hichee.com the other day. They offered Airbnb, booking.com, VRBO and something else I cant remember.

I can see them undercutting the platforms with this model. Just my 2 cents.

[Huma0]

@Frances3408 

No, at this point, I have no intention of signing up. I was just curious about it and about whether others knew of it/had tried it, seeing as Revolut is a pretty large company and yet I've never heard this mentioned before stumbling across the article.

I did a very quick search for rooms in London, and I have to say, the results didn't look promising. It was mostly those blocks with cookie cutter student type accommodation, e.g. a studio with kitchenette. And the other private rooms that came up weren't very appealing.

I also saw the VBRO label on a lot of them, which I thought was odd, because VRBO is not supposed to be for shared spaces. In fact, their current ad campaign is wholly focused on this point, i.e. you get the whole space to yourself. These listings labelled VRBO had the title 'entire apartment' etc, but were mostly just a room in a shared apartment/house.

The design wasn't too nice either. I think if they are planning to compete with Airbnb, they have a lot more work to do.

[Frances3408]

@Huma0. So I'm guessing this may be a low cost/budget offering and they are hoovering up lots of empty rooms but using VRBO platform back end ie its really a commercial offering. Using a different name means they dont hurt the other brands. Definitely not your market but good to be aware so thanks. Its not here in OZ. All our city student digs are filling up fast now that the international students are returning for beginning of the academic year and govt has increased visas.

Kinda reminds me of a certain car company that decided to diversify into social media. 😉

[Huma0]

@Frances3408 

Yes, I definitely got a low budget vibe, but I didn't look at it for long.