Swimply start-up expands from pool hire to tennis courts

Wealthy homeowners can now list their tennis courts for rent via a platform that wants to helped monetise thousands of underused courts across the country.

A tennis court listed for rent on Swimply Courts in Melbourne's well-heeled Hawthorn.

Wealthy Australians in some of the country’s most expensive suburban neighbourhoods in Sydney and Melbourne are now renting out their tennis courts to the other half.

Homeowners in suburbs including Wahroonga, on Sydney’s upper north shore, and Hawthorn, one of Melbourne’s most sought after neighbourhoods, are jumping on the bandwagon by listing their lush green courts for tennis enthusiasts.

The service officially launches in Australia this month, being rolled out by Swimply, a US start-up known as the Airbnb service for pools that launched in Australia late last year.

Australia is the first global market to see the new court-share service, called Swimply Courts, with the US set to see the service from May 8.

A tennis court listed for rent on Swimply in Portsea, Victoria.

Swimply was founded by Bunim Laskin, 30, in 2018. Since it launched, it has seen more than a million people rent more than 10,000 different pools across the US, Canada and in Australia.

“With our launch into tennis, we’re thrilled to be able to provide Australians with an affordable and easy way to access these facilities, while also helping homeowners to monetise their under-utilised assets,” Mr Laskin said.

Swimply’s pool service had a goal of reaching 1500 pools by November this year. The company’s research found there were about 1.3 million in Australian backyards.

The app appears to be popular among the wealthy, with the start-up hosting its launch party at a property in Double Bay last year that had a pool for rent with a view of Sydney Harbour. Unlike the pool-share service, Swimply Courts is limited to Australia’s most populous states, Victoria and NSW. Tennis courts will be let with rates from $18 an hour.

A tennis court listed on Swimply Courts in the upmarket Sydney suburb of Wahroonga, in the upper north shore.

Swimply Australia is led by Sam McDonagh, who was brought on as managing director in August last year. Prior to Swimply, he spent five years as Airbnb’s country manager, finishing up his role in July 2019.

The company’s marketing has been led by Daniel Gervais since October last year, another Australian former Airbnb staffer who spent seven years at the home-share business, finishing up as local head of marketing in December 2020.

A Sydney home in Wahroonga, with a tennis court and pool available for rent on Swimply.

Mr McDonagh said internal research found there were more than 40,000 private tennis courts in Australia, with just 8000 available publicly.

“Australians love tennis – it’s a natural extension for us. We are democratising access to courts, creating income for hosts and supporting community growth at the same time,” he said.

“Tennis is the fifth most highly participated-in sport, yet access to courts is limited. About 63 per cent of tennis players play at public facilities while the rest play at clubs and schools.”