Zumper, a technology company in the residential rental space, has raised $30 million in a Series D funding extension to back its push into the ever-evolving short-term rental sector, according to an announcement
The company now deems itself the only proptech serving the needs of the annual, monthly and nightly rental market.
To date, Zumper has raised $178 million. Despite its massive total raise, recent market shifts forced the company to layoff 15 percent of its staff in June 2022.
Chief experience officer of Zumper, Shalin Amin, said in a statement that the company is a now solution for every type of renter.
“We’re not just for trendsetters and digital nomads but for those in-between leases or those trying to build a rental history,” Amin said. “We’re a solution for many people looking for temporary housing in a growing workforce of migratory workers, like traveling nurses, construction crews, and disaster response teams. Our users play a critical role in making the communities and cities they relocate to thrive.”
Zumper is an online apartment portal, publishing available rentals in markets around the country. It provides publishing and marketing tools for landlords and apartment managers, as well as digitized applications and tenant documentation.
Zumper conducts and publicizes extensive rental industry research. A 2021 report, conducted in part to support its STR move, showed that 1/3 of its users were interested in flexible rentals. It also “revealed that 74 percent of users are booking 1-2 monthly rentals annually and 49 percent remain in one unit between two and six months,” according to the release.
Zumper’s data shows that the idea of short-term rentals is bigger, and more critical, than vacation properties and the remote-working technology sector. Like workforce housing solution PadSplit, Zumper sees a need for those who work full-time in transient occupations, such as nursing and construction.
Zumper’s data also demonstrated renters’ collective need for temporary housing between longer-term stays, such as month-long stays. Its data showed that 50 percent of renters aren’t sure where to look to find stays of that duration.
Zumper will not charge users’ guests an additional fee for short-term listings.
The new STR features also mean landlords with the ability to, can list apartments for short-term stays, which should be an attractive option given Zumper’s claim of 178 million annual website visitors.
The STR market is largely led by AirBnb and VRBO, respectively. While they focus on the vacation industry, a number of off-shoots have been spawned, some targeting investors and others developing management technology.
Ember, a luxury home co-ownership company, announced it will begin allowing owner groups to “STR” their homes.
“With the traditional short-term rental industry, fees are too high and consumers need to look at a multitude of different websites to find the right listing,” said Zumper co-founder and CEO, Anthemos Georgiades, in a statement. “We want to build the most comprehensive rental platform that enables our renters to easily find the best short-term, monthly or long-term rentals with a product designed for today’s far more flexible world.”
