Launching on 5 May, Smarter has built a portfolio of luxury homes founded on its principles of:
1. Restoring guests’ booking confidence by listing only carefully selected, professionally managed homes;
2. Commitment to sustainability through funding carbon offset projects from a percentage of booking proceeds;
3. Market-leading guest value, saving travellers on average $400 per booking (vs booking the identical stay on a traditional booking platform) thanks to its competitive fee structure.
Smarter’s new booking ecosystem is the first of its kind in line to achieve B Corp Certification (Pending), awarded to companies that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance and responsibility.
Taking its cue from modern travellers’ increasing desire to travel more responsibly and minimise their carbon footprint, Smarter’s founders set up a sister charity, the Stay For Good Foundation, dedicated to funding carbon offset projects around the world. The charity will be funded by a portion of every booking made on the Smarter platform and a 10% profit pledge by the company. The company aims to “super-offset” the carbon footprint of all its stays, including its guests’ flights.
With global travel restrictions set to ease and guests’ growing wariness of unvetted accommodation options on major listing websites, Smarter’s arrival puts the brand in a strong position to lead both leisure and business travel’s return this year. The platform carefully selects only the best homes managed by the city’s leading short stay agencies and lists them at more competitive prices than mainstream booking channels. As demands of contemporary travellers rapidly change, this industry-challenging approach is one of the keystones that ensures the brand is speaking to the future of travel.
The new platform is the creation of Guy van der Westhuizen who brings his industry expertise to found this unique bookings offering. Having successfully entered the short-stay industry in 2009 with his London agency Ivy (ivylettings.com), he has set the benchmark for professionally managed short stays and vacation rentals in the city.
“We’re on a mission to lead the short stay industry in a more positive direction, in terms of both guest experience and environmental responsibility.”
“Industry growth over the past decade hasn’t always been for the better, and today travellers face a bewildering array of listings, many run by either dubious or unreliable hosts. Smarter will cut through the noise and set a new standard as the first platform to select homes both on the basis of excellent quality and management service, allowing guests to book with absolute confidence.”
“The travel and hospitality pause over the past year has given us the opportunity to reflect on many aspects of the industries, including their relationships with the environment. As we emerge from the pandemic, we have the perfect opportunity to reset how we operate.”
“We’re thrilled to have the city’s leading short stay managers partnering with us, and together we’re very excited that Smarter will be at the vanguard of positive change within our industry, ensuring that both guests and the planet get a much better deal.”
With homes available to book from late May, Smarter’s network is launching in London to offer a taste of things to come.
Tags: Smarter
