Glimpse is offering Airbnb hosts a way to earn extra money while providing new accommodation to their accommodations.
The startup was founded by CEO Akash Raju, COO Anuj Mehta and CPO Kushal Negi, who all recently graduated from Purdue University. It is part of the current Y Combinator accelerator startup series - where, coincidentally or not, Airbnb is the most famous alum.
Raju said that he and his co-founders came up with the idea while still in school and working with brands to create pop-up shops on campus. They realized that many new consumer brands are trying to raise awareness and decided that Airbnbs was the perfect place to get someone to try (for example) a new mattress or a new type of coffee. After all, hotels are already in the product placement industry.
If you are an Airbnb host, you can register and then browse the offers to get free samples of products. (If you really want to stock up, you can buy large quantities at a discounted price.)
Glimpse works with you to show the products on your properties and by e-mail a digital "lookbook" that highlights the various products to guests at the beginning and end of their stay. You therefore earn a commission (on average Raju from $ 100 to $ 500, although it may be even higher for large-ticket items) when these samples induce consumers to make a purchase.
Brands marketed through the platform include the GhostBed mattress and Liquid Death water.
The startup was first launched in March this year - it's not exactly the best time for the travel industry. Raju recalled: "We actually launched just before COVID started. After that, what we spent a lot of time on was empathetic with the hosts. "
In fact, some of Glimpse's early partners have stopped listing their properties for a while. But travel is on the rise again, including (or even more so) through Airbnb, and Raju said many of Glimpse's 750 current properties are now fully booked through September. And given the loss of earnings in recent months, the hosts may be even more interested than usual.
He added that the team will continue to develop the platform with new features for product discovery and attribution, but said, "The key thing that makes us unique is our emphasis on that home experience."