Pillow Homes

Private
Industry Travel
Founded 2014
Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States
Key people

Sean Conway (Founder)
Justin Miller (Founder)
Todd Conway (Founder)

Dan Palumbo (Founder)
Website www.pillowhomes.com

Pillow Homes, Inc. operates pillowhomes.com, a hospitality and management service for vacation rentals on Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, Booking.com, and other online short term rental marketplaces.[1] The company services short term and vacation rental properties in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle areas.[2][3]

The company raised $2.65 million in investment capital in two rounds of funding in 2014-2015.[4][5]

History

In 2013, Sean Conway, Justin Miller, Todd Conway and Dan Palumbo launched Airenvy, Inc. The founders renamed the company Pillow Homes, Inc. in 2014. The idea for the service was thought of by Sean Conway, Justin Miller after they sold their first company Notehall to Chegg, and began traveling the world.[6] Conway listed his San Francisco property on Airbnb while he was traveling, and realized there was a need for an easier way to manage his property while away. During the company's first months, the founders started listing their San Francisco apartments on Airbnb and staying with each other to test out their new short term rental management ideas. Within the first year the company received their first round of funding at $2.4 million and moved to an office location in San Francisco.[7]

The company launched its mobile application, Pillow for iOS and Android, for property owners, property guests, and Pillow’s vendors in all of their serviceable locations.

Business Model

Pillow Homes is a short term rental management service that acts as a property manager and listing expert for property owners, offer guests consistent quality and customer support, and verifies vendors for property cleanings and maintenance via its website and apps.[8][9] The company has Pillow Pros, which are regional specialists, that provide homeowners with on the ground support for online short term rental sites for their properties. Pillow utilizes a pricing algorithm to determine the best pricing and listing options for a homeowner’s property.[10] It also provides professional cleaning services for properties, check-in/out management for homeowners, and customer support for guests.[11] For the services, hosts pay Pillow 15% of their booking fees.[12]

Financing

Pillow Homes publicly announced their seed funding round in January 2015, with Homebrew Ventures as their lead investor, to bring their total funding to $2.65 million.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Farran Powell (9 March 2015). "Airbnb Sub-Economies Help Users Avoid 'Host Fatigue' and Boost Profits". Main Street.
  2. ↑ Ryan Lawler (20 January 2015). "Pillow Raises $2.65 Million To Take The Friction Out Of Airbnb Rentals". TechCrunch.
  3. ↑ Althea Chang (9 October 2015). "The 1-year lease a thing of the past: CEO". CNBC.
  4. ↑ Carolyn Said (20 January 2015). "Pillow lands $2.65 million to help Airbnb hosts". SFGate.
  5. ↑ Steven Loeb (23 January 2015). "Funding roundup - week ending 1/23/15". Vator Inc.
  6. ↑ David Ongchoco (26 December 2015). "Young & Entrepreneurial: Second-Time Entrepreneur Shares The Realities of Starting-up After An Acquisition". The Huffington Post.
  7. ↑ "Short-term rental manager Pillow Homes raises $2.7 million". NBT World.
  8. ↑ "Startup pitch: Pillow, after its $2.7M raise, will run your short-term rental for you". Tnooz. 3 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Marisa Kendall (8 April 2016). "Airbnb spawns network of 'ecosystem' companies". The Mercury News.
  10. ↑ "Pillow Homes Raises $2.65M in Seed Funding". FinSMEs. 21 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Kira Brecht (11 July 2016). "Rent a Room: How to Turn a Spare Bedroom into Cash Flow". The Ticker Tape.
  12. ↑ Taylor Soper (13 April 2015). "Fresh off a $2.7M funding round, Pillow launches Airbnb listing management service in Seattle". GeekWire.
  13. ↑ Marlize van Romburgh (20 January 2015). "Short-term rental manager Pillow Homes raises $2.7 million, launches 'guaranteed income' service for homeowners". San Francisco Business Times.
  14. ↑ Mike Billings (21 January 2015). "The Daily Startup: Coinbase Lands Funding From VCs, Banks and NYSE". The Wall Street Journal.
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