Participated · Equity · May 2024

Hometime is an Airbnb property manager operating a technology platform for holiday rentals. Over the last five years the company has scaled its team and matured its technology platform while securing backers including AS1 Growth Partners, NAB Ventures, Asia Principal Capital and OneVentures. The company completed a recent AU$10m growth round with support from its existing investors and welcomed Fifth Estate Asset Management to the cap table. Craig Burton was also appointed to the Hometime board. Hometime is kicking off a debt raise to complement the equity round. The fundraising is intended to accelerate professionalising the holiday rental industry, grow the brand across ANZ, and enter new markets by acquiring local operators. Hometime operates a property-management platform that handles end-to-end Airbnb hosting services, positioning hosts’ properties on ‘autopilot’ while respecting owner preferences. Launched in 2016 by Dave Thompson and William Crock and based in Sydney, its services cover Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Sunshine Coast, Adelaide and Auckland. The company grew 450% in 2018 and is described as the pre-eminent provider of professional host services in the Australasian market and the first Airbnb professional co-host in Australia. Hometime says it is generating substantial revenue and will use new capital to drive domestic and international market expansion and further develop its host platform. The funding is intended to extend runway and prepare the business for a larger Series A round in early 2020. Hometime manages short-term property rentals and handles listings on platforms such as Airbnb. Since launching in June last year, the company has serviced over 500 properties and welcomed more than 15,000 guests across Sydney and Melbourne, with monthly user growth described as “by double digits.” The company closed a $1.5M seed funding round to consolidate its position in the short-term rental market. Founders Dave Thompson and Will Crock continue to lead the business. Hometime plans to use the capital to drive further growth in Sydney and Melbourne, open new markets using defined plug-and-play processes, and enhance its technology stack with an owner dashboard to provide hosts transparency on earnings, occupancy and guest reviews.