Startup Bets Hotel Guests Will Share a Room with a Stranger
Would you sleep with a stranger in a fancy hotel room? Seattle-based WinstonClub is betting there’s a market for the idea. It has launched a booking service that brings together travelers willing to share a hotel room and split the cost.
The startup says it carefully screens members, including video chats, information about interest and hobbies, and five different forms of verification (photo ID, email, credit card, social network authentication, and phone number). It plans to roll out user reviews in the second half of 2016.
The company is working only with accredited four- and five-star hotels, in order to distinguish itself from sites like Airbnb, and already has signed up a dozen hotels on the West Coast, its website says.
Winston’s revenue will come from sales commissions paid by the hotel.
