Coupling the principles of the sharing economy and social networking has given rise to Stay One Degree – a luxury home rental platform, focused on cultivating a culture of trust between home owners and their guests.
Co-founders, Thomas Bennett and Jorge Munoz, created Stay One Degree in an effort to rebuild the experience of people lending their homes out to people that they know, when on holiday. Realising that this normally takes a large amount of time and effort to create organically (i.e. building a strong enough relationship with someone, so that they trust you enough to leave you with their precious home), the two sought to harness the power of social media and technology to accelerate the process.
Stay One Degree allows members to build a network of homeowners and fellow travellers that they know either directly, or through mutual relationships. Through these connections, the idea is that property owners never feel as though they are renting their homes to a ‘total stranger’, as they are, to some extent connected to their guests.
Membership is free and immediate, with customers signing up via social media accounts or e-mail. Then, a little like LinkedIn and Facebook, members can send and accept requests with friends and property owners they may share a mutual contact with, within the network.
The platform maintains levels of differentiation between contacts, so members can demarcate between their trusted ‘inner circle’ and ‘second degree’ connections – following the principle of “degrees of separation”. The site also recommends other mutual connections via an algorithm.
Once on the platform, members can access a collection of selected luxury properties, that they can book and rent through direct contact with the owner.
Villa Michaela, a luxury 5 bedroom ocean view villa located in the hills of Cheong Mon, Koh Samui, Thailand
For property owners, a broader pool of connections obviously means greater potential customers. However, their social network also grants them the power to rent exclusively to “first degree” connections or the entirety of Stay One Degree’s membership base, which they can access at a commission rate of eight percent. They can also offer preferential rates to closer connections, if they so choose.
As membership numbers and social networks grow, more property owners will hopefully choose to list their own homes on the platform, offering greater variety and choice in accommodation.
However, to ensure a luxury standard, Stay One Degree individually selects which homes qualify for listing on the site. Properties are selected by specific criteria, including: an exciting location; furnished to a high standard, with tasteful décor; maintained at the standard of a luxury boutique hotel; points of contact (e.g. a property manager or staff) for guests during their stay.
Through all this, Stay One Degree hopes to cultivate a travel “community”, promoting a culture of trust between travellers and property owners – a characteristic that the two co-founders felt was missing in private accommodation. Thus, it differentiates itself with typical models of verified reviews and recommendations common to most vacation rental sites.
Bennett and Munoz argued that social relationships could do more to ensure positive experiences for both the hosts and travellers. For example, guests and homeowners can communicate directly with each other, gleaning information from each other, boosting the quality of the stay.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Stay One Degree launched in February last year, and currently lists luxury properties across 40 countries globally. Prices range from £100 to over £10,000 per night.
It also provides a concierge service, facilitating bookings and organising travel itineraries for travellers.
