Swimply: How Perth pool owners are making an extra income renting out their backyards for an hourly fee

Perth pool owners are making an extra income — some more than $5000 a summer — by renting out their little slices of paradise, giving people another option to cool down as WA continues to swelter through unbearable heatwaves.

They’re doing it with the Swimply app. Just like an Airbnb, Swimply allows homeowners to rent out their pool to those who don’t have one, with swimmers able to take a dip for an hourly fee — with more than 40,000 pools now listed on the platform globally.

The app offers an easy option to “escape locally”, with pool hunters able to search their location for a nearby pool and browse under tags VIP, budget, pet-friendly, waterslides, hot tub, and so forth to find the right match. Swimply also lists how many guests are allowed at each pool, how many parking bays there are and whether the restroom is in the main home, outside or not available.

Sam McDonagh, director of Swimply Australia, said the app had increased in popularity in WA substantially since its Australian launch in 2019.

“We’ve seen bookings grow by 318 per cent year-on-year in Perth so it’s certainly proving popular with the locals,” he said.

“We tend to see more bookings on weekends and in school holidays when people have spare time to relax and have fun. However, there is also a market for midweek bookings too — particularly for things like children’s swimming lessons.”

All prices to rent a pool on Swimply are controlled by the host of the pool themselves. Prices start from an affordable $20 an hour but can reach up to $2000 an hour on the East Coast in high-end suburbs like Mosman in New South Wales.

“The average price on the Swimply site across Australia is $40 an hour, with prices in WA currently reaching a peak of $72 an hour,” he said, adding it was a great way for people to make an extra income.

“We’ve seen hosts earning over $5000 in a single summer season, reflecting the potential for significant earnings for hosts who list their pools on our platform.”

Tamara Ward is one West Aussie who is cashing in on her pool. She has been renting out her ‘Shady Oasis’ in Mount Lawley for $45 an hour for two years now.

“It’s a great way to put to use something that is not used all the time,” she told PerthNow.

“I don’t find going to a public pool very relaxing, especially having to supervise children in such a big pool amongst so many other people.

“So, it’s nice to be able to offer a peaceful backyard pool experience to others.”

Ward says her pool is rented on average four times a week in the peak of summer.

“It’s often early evenings and weekends and often last minute when those 40-degree days hit,” she said.

She said some of the income from renting the pool helped to subsidise the ongoing and increasing costs of owning a pool.

For those looking into Swimply, Ward says she recommends it, “if you are ok with the concept of letting strangers use your things”.

“Not everyone is,” she said. “It works well for me as I work from home, so I am always around to greet them (visitors).

“We have also recently added a backyard bathroom, so they no longer need to come into our house.”

Ward says renting her pool also comes with some “pretty simple and common sense pool rules”.

“No glass in the pool area, adult supervision in the pool area if children are swimming, no diving or backflips and leave the area as you found it,” she explained.

But all in all, she says it’s been a great venture so far.

“Everyone has always been so friendly, appreciative of the experience and respectful of our home. I’ve met some really (good) interesting people from hosting with Swimply.”

Each pool is inspected to ensure it meets local health and safety standards, with owners then given full control over who can visit their property.