Swimply

Swimply Review:

Swimply connects pool owners with people who are willing to pay to swim. The idea was reportedly launched when the founder, who grew up in New Jersey, started asking his neighbor if he and his friends could pay her to use her pool. The site says that people now charge from $35 to $200 per hour to allow others to do the same.

Set your own rates

You, as the pool owner, can register on the site for free, set your rates and say when your pool is available.

You also set pool rules, including whether you allow infants, pets and large groups. And, you say whether guests are allowed to use a restroom or have access to other amenities, such as pool toys, stereo speakers, barbecues, etc.

Booking options

At that point, you can let Swimply automatically accept bookings on your behalf during the pool’s available hours. Or you can review each request yourself. If you review requests yourself, you can ask for information about the number of people; the type of event; whether the event will involve smoking, drinking, food, animals or any other item of concern.

When you accept a booking, Swimply collects the payment and takes a 15% commission.

Or rent the yard/tennis court….

Recently, the site also added the ability to list your tennis court, yard or experience with the same terms — you set the rates and simply pay the site a 15% marketing fee.

A few cautions

If your pool or other rented space is not available for an agreed-upon booking, you could be charged up to $50 per half hour until the pool is available as scheduled. If you cancel a booking at the last minute, you are subject to a cancelation fee. Guests are too.

Insurance

The site offers $1 million in liability coverage and up to $10,000 in property damage coverage. But you should also talk to your homeowner’s insurance agent about whether you need additional coverage if you rent out your pool. Personal liability policies are often void when using personal property for commercial purposes.

Recommendations

If you have a pool that’s not getting much use and you don’t mind sharing it with strangers, this might be an interesting low-maintenance side hustle.

Other sites that help you earn passive income by renting out your space, or a portion of it, consider rent your home by-the-hour sites, such as PeerSpace and Giggster.

Got parking?  CurbFlip and Pavemint help you to rent out your driveway or parking space, and Neighbor rents out spare storage space.

What their hosts say (from Reddit)

I have made $2,500. I rent for $30 hour and $5 per person after 5 people. Made my profile with the aerial photos from my houses listing when I bought, as well as the nice wide angle photos they took of the whole back yard. My pool is decent size (no hot tub) I started early June and have booked parties every weekend. Amenities I provide are a BT speaker, grill, trash cans, and bathroom.

*Updated 4/15/2022