It’s time to #BookDirect

We started Private Porch in mid-2019 and wanted to build a rental platform that was focused on owners and hosts, that was private and was for the people that don’t necessarily rent or share their places. Then the world kind of came to (a brief) end. Talk about horrible timing. But then again, I’m a person who tries to see the good-in-the-bad; every disaster is an opportunity and a chance to rethink things and create something better.

I spent over a decade in the open source software world. It’s where software is created as a collective for the betterment of everyone. It’s completely free and anyone can see how it works. There is absolutely no reason hosts can’t create the same thing. A platform that is by-and-for them, one where hosts share in the bookings and have an opportunity for equity in the business.

During this crisis we’ve been listening to hosts and it’s so frustrating. We’ve built our platform to be Hero-friendly. I get how the OTAs work but the way they have left owners out to dry is deeply shameful. The hosts take the risk of having someone in their home. They create an inviting experience for their guests. So why aren’t they in control?

I summarized some of my conversations with owners here: https://medium.com/@privateporch/what-would-an-ideal-rental-platform-look-like-for-owners-be00559a5471

Private Porch was designed to facilitate direct booking. Hosts are first-and-foremost. Owners should be able to communicate directly with their guests. They should be able to link to their listings on Airbnb, Vrbo or even their personal sites. Use our payment platform or don’t. PayPal, Venmo or leave a check on the kitchen table; that’s up to the owner and the guest. Same thing goes for when bad things happen. As we grow, there are plenty of ways for us to make money that don’t stick it to the hosts.

We have a bunch of exciting things on tap as we come out of this crisis and we’re building the platform by-and-for-owners that should have existed years ago.

While we’ve raised a bit of capital from friends and family to build this business, we’re not a venture-capital backed company. My co-founders and I have gone that route before and we have always wanted to build something different. Something that makes an impact. Something that helps the rising tide lift all boats.

People are starting to take vacations again. We’re going to get through this. We’re here to do our best to create something that helps us all when we finally get through this. We believe we can do that with Private Porch. We have a lot more on tap here in 2020 and we’re excited to start making this happen. Looking forward to you joining us.