Home exchange is a decades-old idea that’s being given new life thanks to Cosmopolit Home, a one-year old French startup.
Cosmopolit Home’s twist on house-swapping is to create a type of currency, similar to loyalty points with a cafe or an airline. The more nights you host people for free in your home, the more credits you earn that can be redeemed for free travel in other people’s homes.
The says more than 6,000 people have served as hosts through the platform so far.
In September, the company raised euro 2 million in funding from investment funds Rhône Alpes Creation, Expansinvest, and Otonnale, as well as from some private individuals and the BPI.
The company plans to use the funding to expand its marketing efforts from Europe to the US. It claims it already has listings in more than 50 countries.
Cosmopolit Home has created a Vine to showcase its premise:
Q&A with CEO Serge Duriavig:
Tell us how you founded the company, why and what made you decide to jump in and create the business.
How did I come up with the idea of Nightswapping ?
It was at a dinner party with a couple of friends that the subject of home exchange was brought up: no need to pay for accommodation, same comfort as home and instant cultural immersion.
Immediately won over, I experienced it three times. However, finding the suitable swap, at the convenient dates and in a home of the same standard is actually a complicated and lengthy process.
I therefore thought up a new concept based on the already existing ones that would break down their constraints, and this is how Nightswapping was born!
Why did I start this business?
For two reasons: the first one being I have always admired simple ideas being able to completely shake our lifestyles and ways of consuming, to make them evolve and change for the better.
I therefore wanted in turn to create a new and unique concept, an intellectual model that, I hope, will be approved and adopted by all.
However, Cosmopolit Home is more than that, it is also about building a story with men and
women engaged in this adventure, nurturing ambition, pleasure and innovation day in and day out.
Far beyond financial success, my first ambition is for the human spirit and adventure to strive.
Size of the team, names of founders, management roles and key personnel?
The Cosmo team is composed of about fifteen co-workers, all aged between 24 and 39.
Cosmopolit Home counts 3 confirmed entrepreneurs on board:
Serge DURIAVIG, 37 years old, CEO
Travel & leisure specialist, a former home exchange fan, and now a convinced Nightswapper
Former associate director of Smartbox (400M€ revenue)
Samuel PACCOUD, 37 years old, CTO
Code master and confirmed traveller
Founder of rondbleu.com, a local social network
Stéphane ALLOUCHE, 38 years old, CMO
Online globetrotter and webmarketing wizard
Founder of CadeauMalin.com
Funding arrangements?
Cosmopolit Home’s first year of existence was exclusively financed by the founder Serge Duriavig before successfully raising last July its first 2M€.
These funds will allow us to develop our presence in Europe and North America to meet our objective of 50.000 accommodations in over 180 countries for next year.
Estimation of market size?
The growing popularity of collaborative consumption platforms these last 5 years tends to show that a very large number of consumers are potential members.
Home owner or tenant, young or retired, single or with family… the sharing economy speaks to many within the middle class.
That being said, it is still difficult today to quantify the size or our market, as our concept seems to be appealing to everyone.
Competition?
As Airbnb, Couchsurfing and home exchange, Nightswapping covers all the assets of staying at a local’s without the drawbacks. It’s Free, Flexible, Friendly, Authentic and Comfortable…
Cosmopolit Home vs. Airbnb
- Cosmopolit Home is legally open to tenants
- Accommodation is free (no monetary transaction between traveller and host)
Cosmopolit Home vs. Couchsurfing
- More comfort as you can stay in entire homes and not just rooms/ sofas
- Travel alone, as a couple or with friends/ family – you can travel as a group
- A multilingual member support guides the community from sign up to nightswap.
Cosmopolit Home vs. Home Away
- 100% free, no subscription and no binding
- Swaps no longer need to be mutual
Revenue model and strategy for profitability?
Cosmopolit Home’s business model is based on 2 main sources of income:
- A $9.90 connection fee paid by the traveller for each concluded nightswap, whatever the number of people who come along and however long their stay.
- The possibility to buy nights (from $7 to $49 per night), an additional service offered to travellers with an insufficient amount of nights to book their stay.
What problem does the business solve?
Thanks to Nightswapping, you can now travel throughout the world without paying for accommodation. Our concept brings the possibility of travelling to all, as it allows you to save up to 60% on your trip.
How did the initial idea evolve and were there changes/any pivots along the way in the early stages?
Initially, Cosmopolit Home was thought as a platform based on a subscription model. However, we quickly changed our mind and business model to allow everyone to sign up for free.
We also experienced a second change that occurred before officially launching the website: at first, it was only possible to list your entire home on Cosmopolit Home.
We decided to add the possibility to register your guest room, which now represents close to 40% of the listings available on the website.
Why should people or companies use the business?
To experience a free stay based on values of sharing, trust and authenticity, come join our community of Nightswappers. It is open and suitable to all: homeowner or tenant, host or traveller, in a guest room or an entire home, the choice is up to you!
What is the strategy for raising awareness and the customer/user acquisition?
Our acquisition strategy is essentially based on blogging and social media display (Facebook, Twitter with custom audience and lookalike) as well as TB (Mobile and Desktop).
We are currently thinking up a performance-based video campaign to promote our service, its points of interest and values.
We aim to deploy a 100% mobile acquisition in the middle term thanks to the release of an APP dedicated to the use of our service.
Where do you see the company in three years time and what specific challenges do you anticipate having to overcome?
Launched alongside the important actors of the accommodation industry, Cosmopolit Home has the ambition for Nightswapping to become the worldwide reference in peer to peer travelling, with over 150.000 accommodations throughout the world.
With these goals in sight, we must anticipate and prepare our teams for such a potential growth.
What is wrong with the travel, tourism and hospitality industry that it requires a startup like yours to help it out?
Until now, the only possible options in terms of accommodation were the following:
• Hotel
• Camping
• Rentals
• P2P rentals
• Hostel
• Home exchange
There was therefore a place to take in a very scattered market.
Nightswapping combines all the assets of the other accommodation actors, without the drawbacks. It’s Free, Flexible, Friendly, Authentic, Comfortable, Safe… and open to all!
What other technology company (in or outside of travel) would you consider yourselves most closely aligned to in terms of culture and style… and why?
We chose the company “Lyft” for its authentic, fun and friendly image. It is a brand close to its members and this is what we are working towards in our on-going communication.
Which company would be the best fit to buy your startup?
I believe Airbnb would be the best fit for various reasons:
-Expand and diversify their service to people who cannot afford Airbnb’s current pay-for model.
-Continue to develop their market size with a 100% legal concept in cities where Airbnb was or has become borderline such as New York or Paris for example.
Describe your startup in three words?
People, good vibes and innovation.
Tnooz view:
Home exchange has a storied heritage.
The old guard house swapping clubs — HomeLink, Home Exchange, and Intervac—have struggled to adopt to the Internet.
Sensing the weakness of these wheezing retrievers, more than 20 companies have attempted to overtake their market share in the past decade.
But these efforts by upstarts, which tend to be hyped at first and then fall quiet, include Knok which may be the leader at a claimed 120,000 “members” and which focuses on the social networking aspect of matches, Love Home Swap (for the high-end market), and CasaHop, which raised $1.2 million but now appears to be defunct.
Part of the problem is the limited size of the market. More than 100,000 people a year worldwide trade homes currently, but not all of them do it every year. So the number of times people might use these sites is small.
The potential for earning money from membership fees or upselling members on services like sample contracts or insurance may not be enormous.
On the other hand, the Big Three (Intervac, Home Exchange, and HomeLink) have let themselves be opened to competition.
And the experience of the team members at Cosmopolit Home looks impressive. If the startup develops a tablet- and smartphone-strategy, it might gain an edge.
Bonne chance!