A Singaporean based in New York has hit upon an unconventional way of renting out accommodation to travellers, harnessing the power of the Internet and social networking sites.
Entrepreneur Teo Jia En, 26, and her Italian boyfriend Federico Folcia, 29, have launched a website, www.roomorama.com, offering travellers shortterm accommodation in people's apartments in New York, Chicago, Boston and Toronto.
It means home owners who are often away for reasons such as business can earn spare cash from their vacant apartments.
This alternative accommodation is up to 60 per cent cheaper than hotel rooms in New York, according to the site.
For example, a nightly stay in an apartment in Tribeca, a hip neighbourhood in lower Manhattan, costs about US$191 ($287), 40 per cent cheaper than a hotel in the same area.
Ms Teo says: 'It's great for people who are sick of hotels and want a break from touristy spots in the city. They can also explore places from a local's point of view.'
She came up with the idea after her frequent travels for work left her own apartment in New York City vacant for weeks. To earn extra cash, she started renting it out a few days at a time to holiday-makers wanting an affordable place to stay.
Ms Teo and Mr Folcia then realised the idea had more potential and co-founded Roomorama.com in July. They even ditched their day jobs as account managers in Bloomberg, a financial information and media company.
The business is 'not profitable yet', she says, but she expects it will break even in the next three to four months.
A Singaporean-born Canadian, Mr Euwyn Poon, 23, a lawyer and part-time web designer, has been hired to help set up the website, which has 308 rooms available. To publicise their unusual service, they advertise on social networks such as Facebook and by word-of-mouth through friends.
The idea caught on when people began trying out the service - a specialist one, unlike general classifieds sites such as American website www.craigslist.com - and telling their friends.
Signing up is simple. Both hosts and travellers need to create a profile online which tells other members who they are and what kind of accommodation is offered or needed.
Based on recommendations by other members and reputation scores which determine how much previous members had enjoyed their stay or if a member had been a good tenant, hosts and guests size each other up before finalising the booking.
Payment can only be made online through payment service Paypal and credited into the host's account when guests arrive. Guests are ensured of a room and hosts are confident that they will not be played out at the last minute, says Ms Teo.
Those renting out their homes are also encouraged to take a security deposit.
'People who usually sign up for this service are familiar with homestays and will be mindful of people's property. It's just to guard against accidental damages,' she said.
Roomorama.com gets a 5 per cent cut from each transaction. Plans are underway to expand the service to San Francisco and Europe.
But Ms Teo, a political science and economics graduate from the University of Michigan and who attended Raffles Junior College and Singapore Chinese Girls' School, is not sure if her website will take off here. She said: 'Asians tend to be less open about welcoming strangers into their homes so there might not be a strong supply of rooms.'
Many Singaporeans, she added, live with their parents and move out only when they are married.
This is the complete opposite from single New Yorkers who choose to live alone and have ample space left over for rent.
She says: 'Who knows? Things may change with the younger generation and influx of foreign talent here.'
