Skift Take
Onefinestay is targeting a different customer than Airbnb by providing amenities that most Airbnb guests forgo in the name of cost or experience. It will need to continue differentiating itself with add-ons as it expands into cities where Airbnb is already established with an inventory of budget and high-end homes.
UK home rental startup onefinestay is expanding from two to four markets this week by adding two dozen new apartments in Los Angeles and Paris.
The service launched in London in 2010 and New York in 2012 and now manages nearly 1,300 properties in the two markets.
The accommodations site rents out high-end apartments with added luxuries including linens, towels, toiletries, and iPod docks. Guests can enjoy the local experiences offered by sites like Airbnb with the comforts a boutique hotel.
The startup faces competition from Airbnb, which already has thousands of homes listed for as low as $70 in each city, as well as city officials that ban some types of rentals onefinestay does in both its existing and its new markets.
Onefinestay targets wealthy travelers with properties ranging from $250 to $2,000 a night. It also has keyless entries for properties and an app with recommendations from onefinestay home owners.
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Tags: los angeles, onefinestay, paris
Photo credit: A photo of one of the new Parisian apartments that will now be listed on home rental website onefinestay. onefinestay / Onefinestay