Bnbsitter raises $2.5M for on-demand concierge service for short-term rentals

Bnbsitter is another startup operating in the Airbnb and short-term rentals ecosystem. However, differing slightly from property-management-style concierge offerings, such as London-based Hostmaker, the Paris-based company offers a pure on-demand marketplace for concierge-related services.

The list of services bookable through Bnbsitter include “bespoke key drop-offs” (guest check-in and check-out), cleaning, laundry, replenishment services and what it calls guest coordination, with prices starting from €19.99. The startup currently operates in an impressive 13 European cities including Paris, Cannes, Nice, Barcelona, Rome and Milan — and plans to add London by the end of the year.

To help further expand, including eyeing the U.S. and LatAm as potential markets, Bnbsitter has closed $2.5 million in Series A funding from a list of investors that includes the founder of BlaBlaCar, Frederic Mazzella, and French venture capital firm CapDecisif Management.

“Our goal is simple, make Airbnb hosts’ lives easier!” Bnbsitter co-founder and CEO Piero Cipriano tells TechCrunch. “We remove the hassle of managing vacation rentals (for Airbnb, HomeAway or Airbnb-like platform hosts) at affordable prices. We have created the first on-demand marketplace for concierge services. Guest check-in and check-out, cleaning and laundry, etc.”

To that end, Cipriano says the 2013-founded startup has been targeted at anyone managing short-term rentals from day one, from individual owners to owners of multiple properties and property management companies. The idea was to solve typical short-term rental headaches such as “how do I welcome my guests and give them the keys?” or “who is going to clean the apartment for the guests arriving after?”

Cipriano says that 50,000 travellers have benefited from services booked through the platform in less than 3 years, which amounts to 4,000 hosts entrusting Bnbsitter with their keys. “The traditional property managers are still our main competitors,” he says, “but some vacation rental management websites have emerged, including Pillow Homes for example in the U.S.”