There's a company that's like Airbnb for mansions.
If you've never hear of Thirdhome, that's probably because started as an exclusive members only club — actors, athletes, musicians, successful businessmen — who swap their homes for vacation rentals.
But in May, Thirdhome opened its portfolio of mansions to the public. Once registered as a user, anyone can book a vacation home through the Luxury Rentals and Adventures platform on the website.
Though all of the 10,000 properties are required to value at $500,000 minimum, with the median home value $2.4 million, there are rentals that anyone can afford.
Rates to rent mansions vary based a number of factors, including the destination and number of bedrooms.
Some are outright reasonable: This entire seaside, hilltop villa in Greece with five bedrooms sleeps 10 people. With rates as low as $350 per night, that's $35 per person.
For that you get a breezy outdoor pavilion that offers sweeping views.
The living room opens to the outdoors, and the house features spacious guestrooms.
Some properties are more expensive, but are perfect for bigger groups. This $4,449 a night, 10-bedroom rain forest villa in Costa Rica that sleeps 24 people — $184 per person per night with a full house.
Its outdoor hot tub has views of the Caribbean Sea.
And most rooms are equipped with private balconies.
This guestroom even has an outdoor hammock.
This 12-bedroom Bali villa in Canggu, Indonesia, can sleep up to 30 people. Rates are $100 per person per night for 12 people (three-night minimum stay), and per-person rates are cheaper with a bigger party.
The spacious reception area is perfect for cocktails.
There are sprawling master bedrooms.
There's even room to accommodate dozens of people at the outdoor pool, one of two on the property. There is also a tennis court, a cinema and helipad.
The idea for Thirdhome was born when founder and CEO Wade Shealy, a developer and expert in the luxury real estate business for more than 25 years, noticed many of his clients would buy homes then want to sell them a few years later. Others were hesitant to purchase and vacation in the same place year after year, he says.
So Shealy launched Thirdhome in 2010 with a small collection of houses from second homeowners, giving them value back on their investments. Many of the homes on Thirdhome are exclusive, meaning owners don't offer their homes on other booking sites, like Airbnb.
Opening up Thirdhome to the public could be a lucrative play for Shealy. Revenue in the US vacation rental market continues to rise every year, hitting $18.9 million this year and expected to show an annual growth rate of 6.6 percent, just over $23 million by 2022. Vacation rentals across the world is a $100-billion dollar industry.
And VRMB, an industry vacation rental resource, reports that vacation rentals will topple the hotel industry by 2020. The average number of Airbnb units alone double year upon year, whereas hotel supply increase by 1 percent. Goldman Sachs conducted a survey indicating once people switch to Airbnb, they don't go back to hotels.
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