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Airbnb entrepreneurs YourWelcome bring hotel services to the sharing economy

London-based Airbnb startup YourWelcome has announced it has netted a further £400k in external funding as it aims to revolutionise the global accommodation platform.

The property tech firm, the brainchild of entrepreneurs Henry Bennett and Paul Loram, gives AirBnB hosts the option to provide their guests with value-added services such as taxis, takeaways or discounted shows via a YourWelcome tablet that is left for guests.

Hosts are able to monetise the recommendations they leave for guests by receiving a percentage of revenue made from each on-demand booking. The tablets also learn through guest behaviour, giving hosts an insight into why guests are booking their property and what services they want during their stay.

This new source of funding was part of property technology venture capital firm Pi Lab’s Demo Day, which saw over £1m of investment cash offered in their oversubscribed £400k funding round.

With corporate deals already in place with global serviced apartment company Skyline and AirBnB management companies such as Easy Rental Services, the PropTech firm is hoping the investment will support expansions into Paris and the longer-term student property market this year.

Mary Criebardis Singh, Pi Labs Programme Director was complimentary about the technology firm’s potential, following a stint in Pi Lab’s accelerator programme.

She said: “When we came across YourWelcome we were instantly impressed with the founders and the innovative product they had developed. What is really unique about YourWelcome’s platform is that they give service providers access to the short term lettings market and the sharing economy.

“The company achieved incredible traction during the accelerator programme both in terms of customer growth and further investment.”

Henry Bennett, Co-Founder explained the inspiration behind YourWelcome and its services, when he added: “As occasional Airbnb hosts ourselves, we knew there had to be a way to simplify the way hosts communicate with guests, especially if they are unable to greet them in person. We also thought there should be a way for the hosts to monetise their guests through offering high quality on-demand services.”

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