All the hoopla around Austin's short-term-rental ordinance that took place right on the verge of SXSW 2016 might have obscured a couple of less-flamboyant, roughly simultaneous developments in that arena.
One is that Florida-based Oasis Collections, which specializes in boutique luxury short-term rentals, would be joining locally based HomeAway and TurnKey, along with AirBnB, in the local STR market.
Another is the launch of Homads at SXSW Interactive 2016. The bootstrapped startup was created by UT grads who market to a specific, but likely sizeable, clientele looking for rentals for more than 30 days but who don't need a longer-term lease.
According to a recent Austin-American Statesman article on the business, founders Vi Nguyen and Lan Chu took a lean approach to the launch, raising $200,000 through crowdfunding, receiving a $30,000 grant, and putting up their own assets for collateral to get the business up and running. They're now seeking money from investors, but their service—which matches rental hosts/landlords with renters looking for short-term stays of more than 30 days—is already in operation, without about 300 users, the Statesman story added.
That clientele includes new Austinites who need a temporary place to land and academics looking for places for a single semester, the Statesman reported. Since Homads doesn't facilitate rentals for fewer than 30 days, its properties are not subject to city short-term-rental regulations or hotel taxes.
• Austin-based Homads enters the crowded short-term rental market [AAS]
• More Luxury, More Short-Term Rentals Come to Town [Curbed Austin]