Rocky Abdullah wanted her kids to have a pool this summer. She just didn’t need to own one.
Abdullah, her son Khalel, and his friend Josiah spent an afternoon splashing around in a private backyard pool in Wantagh, New York — one they rented by the hour through an app called Swimply.
“You could just do your own thing and have fun,” Khalel said.
For Abdullah, the appeal goes beyond convenience. “It beats the public pools and the lines and the locker rooms,” she said. “It gives a peace of mind to know like it’s solely ours for whatever time we booked it.”
How Swimply works
Swimply is a booking app that connects pool owners with renters. It vets guests and manages reservations, taking a portion of the host’s earnings in return.
This summer alone, Swimply expects to host 2.5 million guests. The platform currently lists 18,000 rentable pools across 45 states.
Lauren French is one of those hosts. She rents out her backyard pool for $70 to $80 an hour and expects to earn about $15,000 this season.
For French, it’s about more than the income. “I think part of what’s endearing about having this experience is a lot of the folks that come use my pool, like myself when I was younger, would definitely not be able to use a pool unless there was something like Swimply,” she said.
Why so many people are skipping the pool purchase
Building a backyard pool has become increasingly out of reach for many homeowners.
According to Pool Magazine, the average price of a new in-ground pool has jumped 30 to 40 percent since 2021. That price shock has cooled construction: new pool builds have fallen from more than 120,000 in 2021 to about 60,000 this year.
Abdullah said she looked into putting in her own pool — and quickly ruled it out.
“I saw how much it costs not only to install, but the insurance and the taxes that come along with it,” she said. “And just as quickly as it entered my mind, it had to leave.”
A pool for everyone?
Only about 1 in 12 U.S. households have a swimming pool, according to Pool Magazine. Most are concentrated in Florida and California. For the rest of the country, apps like Swimply are offering a new kind of answer — someone else’s backyard, yours for the afternoon.