Kopa is a rental housing booking platform for 1-12+ month stays. They focus specifically on “monthly” stays and are the largest medium-term marketplace. Kopa is a great platform for hosts & you can create a custom website from your Airbnb listing in just one click!
As a short-term host, having a gap during slow seasons can cause a financial loss. One of the most successful strategies to increase occupancy during slow seasons is to find a renter for a longer stay.
Last year, my friends bought a condo on a northern lake. It was booked solid in the summers, but only a few weekends were ever booked in the winter. She was concerned about the winter season this year and was determined to find a longer stay to pay expenses.
She used Kopa to find a 3-month guest who needed a place to work remotely. I thought this may be a clever way to fill in the slow season gaps! I did some research about Kopa to find out who they are and what they do.
What is Kopa?
In a nutshell, Kopa is like an Airbnb or VRBO, where hosts add listings and renters/guests book them, but they focus specifically on those longer-term stays. Their average stay is 4 months, often appealing to some sort of temporary worker. Through Kopa, hosts add their listings, receive booking requests, evaluate rental applications, and receive all payments.
Are there Different Plan Options?
Kopa has two plans: their Free Plan and Direct Booking Pro. Here’s an overview of each plan and what type of host they’re good for:
Free Plan
Through the Free Plan, hosts simply add their space to the Kopa marketplace to advertise their listings to over 2 million renters. This is very much like Airbnb but with a focus on renters, not vacationers.
This is great for sublets and people who want more reach to medium-term renters. Cost: 2–9% service fee on each booking amount
Direct Booking Pro
Through this, you can create your own custom direct booking website. This is ideal for hosts who list their spaces on many platforms and want them to take them all to their own custom branded website where they can still manage all their guests, bookings, and payments.
You don’t need any tech or coding skills to set up your website — it’s all done on one page that’s super simple to use. And … all your listings are still cross-posted to the Kopa marketplace as another way of helping you get renters.
While they do charge a monthly fee to keep your website up and running and manage all the payments and technology, the cost does turn out to be about 1/5 or 1/10 of the cost of service fees on other platforms. Cost: Pricing is dependent on your number of listings and starts at $4/month/listing
What Types of Renters Does Kopa Appeal to?
The Kopa marketplace sees lots of renters moving for new work or education opportunities. This includes interns, travel nurses, grad and Ph.D. students, digital nomads, and people relocating to a new city. Kopa has seen its renters and hosts grow exponentially since the crisis as people seek new apartments outside of the big city limits.
Is it Safe? Are Renters Vetted?
Kopa requires light rental applications for all renters. Before any renter can message or request to rent from you on Kopa, they must fill out a rental application that includes the following information:
- Work experience and dates
- Proof of income
- Education information (if a student)
- Educational institution document (e.g. university transcript; if a student)
Kopa also supports security deposits, upfront payments, leases, background checks, credit checks, and they encourage you to ask for any other appropriate information to make your decision.
How Do I Get Started?
Kopa has made it super easy to set up your account.
- Start by signing up for an account.
- Choose which plan you’d like: Free Plan or Direct Booking Pro.
- Import your listings in less than 5 minutes.
- Start getting bookings through Kopa.
No matter if you’re looking for a platform to get medium-term leads or to create your own website with an all-in-one booking system, Kopa is a great option for you and your rental business.
Kopa is a great way to fill those slower months and Mamma Mode readers get can try the platform and get 1 month free here!
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