Airbnb specialist gets investment injection, plans rapid growth
One Airbnb property management specialist has received a boost from a group of high-profile investors, an indication of the potential of the short-term renting sector.
MadeComfy announced that five investors will join its advisory board, propelling its plans for national expansion.
The new board members are Cliff Rosenberg, managing director of LinkedIn Australia, New Zealand and south-east Asia; Rolf Hansen and Peter O’Connell co-founders of ASX-listed Amaysim; Hein Vogel, managing director of Investec Australia Manfred Hasseler, entrepreneur and adviser to Airtasker. All five have each made a significant investment in MadeComfy.
Mr Rosenberg said he was excited to be working with the team to create a “win-win” situation for both property owners and travellers.
“Doing this at scale presents a huge opportunity and it’s great to see the progress already made by MadeComfy in such a short space of time,” he said.
MadeComfy’s co-founder and COO, Quirin Schwaighofer, said he was pleased the five investors were coming on board.
“We are proud to have secured such experienced and successful investors and advisers to MadeComfy. They offer phenomenal access to a wealth of talent and experience across multiple business disciplines,” Mr Schwaighofer said.
He added that MadeComfy had big plans for the future.
“The planned rollout of MadeComfy across other major Australian cities is on target for 2017,” Mr Schwaighofer said.
“Moving forward, MadeComfy will continue to invest in our IT and operational infrastructure to deliver excellence in customer service for our property owners and guests.”
MadeComfy – which was founded by Mr Schwaighofer and Sabrina Bethunin – was launched in 2015. It has grown rapidly in the booming sharing accommodation market by providing a tech-enabled, end to end management service.
With more than 23,000 Airbnb listings and 262,000 guests in 2016, Sydney experienced a 106 per cent year-on-year growth. Today, Sydney is ranked the world’s fifth largest market for short-term rentals.
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