Just 6 weeks ago Stephan Uhrenbacher, the founder of Qype, officially launched his new startup called 9flats, which is basically a clone of the US-based Airbnb. The idea behind this copied business model is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover and book unique spaces around the world. 9flats started its platform in 6 languages and has already 5,000 offers in 2,000 cities on its website.
But a few days ago another German Airbnb clone named Wimdu launched its services – a startup that was recently founded by the Samwer brothers. As being in competition with Samwer startups can be tough, Stephan Uhrenbacher already joked via Twitter that he got “samwered”.
It’s going to be exciting to see who will win the race. Perhaps Stephan Uhrenbacher and his startup 9flats has a good chance of dominating the European market. To be continued!
Find this interesting? For a more in-depth comparison of Wimdu, 9flats, and Airbnb, check out our update from June 2012.
Go WIMDU!!!
Wimdu rules!
Die Samwers ‘mal wieda, alles nur geklaut. Klar machen die das Rennen, weil’se mehr Kohle rankarren, um sich später den Verkauf vergolden zu lassen.
[…] those of you who are not familiar with the 9flats-/Airbnb-/Wimdu-model, I would recommend to watch the following 9flats commercial: This entry was posted in […]
[…] first time I mentioned the launch of Wimdu was in an article about German Airbnb clones last month. Now I just realized how quickly this […]
Wimdu sucks.
How can you say “Wimdu Rules” when it’s obvious that they are stealing from somebody else? An idea is not proprietary, but why would you blatantly steal something and try to call it your own? You have to wonder about a company’s integrity toward helping their customers if they have no integrity when it comes to basic business practices? They’re not planting the right seeds, and Karma is a bitch.
Relax Bart. Who you working for? Competition is a GOOD thing remember.
In the end I want me, the consumer to win, not just the first player that happens to enter the market.
Airbnb charges 15% commission? Wimdu around 3%? Something like that. People will be listed on both sites. Only when they can’t keep up with demand will they begin to give preference to Wimdu with its lower fees. Then Airbnb will drop their prices, and so on. Fees will eventually reach something close to zero. Then we as consumers win!
[…] Aside from the existing security standards at 9flats.com (guests and hosts evaluating each other online, etc.) this recent move further increases the security of 9flats.com-users. According to the young startup, there have been no claims over €100 yet – within the six months of existence. […]
Wimdu also charges 15% commission: 3% to the hosts, and 12% to the guests. Honestly, they have no idea what they’re doing over there. It’s a joke – they create fake reviews (of course), steal Airbnb’s data, and the internal control is the worst one I have seen. They run around like a chicken with their heads cut off.
[…] / payment processes and charges a commission. The startup is headquartered in Berlin and was founded earlier this year by Rocket Internet (a startup incubator of the Samwer brothers). About two month ago Wimdu has […]
in my experience, wimdu pretty much sucks.
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[…] Axel Springer becomes a strategic marketing partner of Airbnb in Germany, supporting Airbnb’s media campaign through a significant media volume in a variety of the group’s online and print publications. This partnership could be critical for Airbnb as the young company faces stiff competition from its German clones Wimdu and 9flats. […]
WIMDU SUCKS!
I have an accout with Air B&B, which I am perfectly happy with, it is a splendid service. I was then recently contacted by Wimdu by phone, and I agreed to receive and email and a log-in. Next thing I know I receive a request from someone who wants to rent my place. Wimdu has WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND WITHOUT MY EVER LOGGING IN TO THEIR SITE
.. continued:
taking all my data, my profile picture, all the pictures of my home, my phone number, my calender availability, my pricing, my house roules and fitted them into a profile on Wimdu.
I cannot say how that freaks me out!! Pictures of my f*** home and my portrait! That is so offensive, and I urge everybody to use a rental service with respect for your privacy and sense of security!