Discounts on Last-Minute Short-Term Rentals Could Be the Next Big Thing
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Dennis' Online Travel Briefing
Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Executive Editor and online travel rockstar Dennis Schaal will bring readers exclusive reporting and insight into the business of online travel and digital booking, and how this sector has an impact across the travel industry.Will startup Whimstay be the next Hotwire or Priceline in offering last-minute rates at a discount for vacation rentals?
That speculation is premature, for sure, but the problem Whimstay is solving will indeed find a significant niche in the short-term rental sector.
Ben Jamshahi, co-founder and CEO of Whimstay, a San Francisco-based startup, said the company contracts exclusively with hundreds of property managers to offer discounted rates of 15-60 percent, usually within 21 days of the stay. He said in some cases guests can book just one day before starting their trips.
Whimstay also offers much longer booking windows, but without discounts as significant as in the 21-day timeframe. “Within 21 days is the sweetest,” Jamshahi said.
Whimstays’ publicly disclosed partners for reduced rates on expiring inventory include Vacasa, Inntopia, Natural Retreats, and Best Beach Getaways. In addition, Whimstay, which also offers vacation rentals at more traditional retail rates, has integrated with a variety of property management systems, including Escapia, V12.net, Streamline VRS, and Hostfully.
It remains to be seen what kind of traction Whimstay might eventually command. Property manager Evolve, which has been around for more than a decade, had seven times Whimstay’s website traffic last month, for example, according to SimilarWeb. It was 672,000 visits for Evolve versus 104,000 for Whimstay.
Founded in 2018, Whimstay officially launched this year i
