Flat-Club, a rental marketplace targeting students and alumni, has extended its service from Europe to the US starting with 30 universities.
The London-based startup, unveiled two years ago (Tlabs here), works by friends and members of clubs and organisations letting accommodation to each other, building on the hopefully already existing trust element.
The business is already working with more than 50 universities including Columbia, NYU, London Business School, INSEAD, and Cambridge and has more than 3,000 units on its books.
Flat-Club is running a campaign for its American launch called 'US30' after Interstate 30 and a competition for students and past-pupils to earn points for their university club by joining up, spreading news about the club and putting up a room or flat for rental.
One student will be selected for a marketing internship with Flat-Club with several prizes up for grabs including an opportunity to help promote the startup via social media channels.
Flat-Club secured undisclosed Series A funding in May ahead of launching several new markets in Europe and upgrading its user experience and technology platform.
Here's some facts about the student and alumni short-term accommodation sector:
- it's said to be worth $10bn annually
- there are more than 90 million nights booked for stays from between one night and six months
- Flat-Club says it's average stay is four times longer than stays at traditional peer-to- peer websites