The Zeus Living online platform is a new take on the $12 billion corporate housing industry, leasing unfurnished, privately-owned homes and convert them into ‘expertly appointed, convenient, and full-service corporate housing units’ for extended stay travelers. It feels like an Airbnb for extended stays, whether it’s for business relocation or simply a new ‘lighter’ way to live.
Zeus describes it this way:
There’s a better way to live and own. We’re using technology, data, and a human touch to build a new light-living experience for residents and homeowners everywhere.
The service is currently in 3 cities, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Zeus is funded by Initalized Capital, a venture capital fund co-founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Kulveer Taggar of Zeus Living discussed the startup on CNBC:
Focusing on Digital Native Millennials
We are noticing digital native millennials, they want to be a bit more asset light, they want more flexibility, and they want more mobility. So we are providing them a rental solution where they don’t have to sign up for a 12-month lease, they don’t have to sign up for an unfurnished place, and everything is tech-enabled and conveniently set up for them.
There are two facets to our business. The way we get our homes is we are positioned as a property manager for homeowners. The idea is we provide managed ownership. You get all of the benefits of owning a home without the headaches of managing a property. We will sign a two-year lease, then we will furnish the home and then market them to other people to live in. The homes come pretty beautifully designed so the expectation is that you probably don’t want to do a ton of redecorating.
Zeus is an Alternative to Extended Stay Hotels
Since we have actually started the business the rental market has softened by about 15 percent in the San Francisco Bay area, which is where we started. What we found is that as prices actually come down the amount we pay to the homeowners reduces as well. It’s on us to do the math as to what we think the market is going to do and then in the price that we are offering homeowners we factor all of those things in. We have a lot of people and businesses that use us for relocations and we are actually a lot more affordable than hotels, extended stay hotels, or traditional corporate housing.