Jed Neill
WE’VE all heard of dating apps to help you find the perfect partner, but a brand new app aims to match up users with dream holidays instead.
A Londoner has developed an app that offers a cheap alternative for holidaymakers in Spain by sharing their properties online in a dating app format.
HolidaySwap, aimed at 20 to 30-year-olds, immediately puts two property owners in touch in the same way Tinder or Bumble do for potential couples.
Creator James Asquith said people build up their profiles using photos of the property they want to share.
“Someone at home then can swipe right to ‘like’ them or go left to ‘pass’. If they’ve also ‘liked’ you – bingo. It’s a match and you can start messaging,” he said.
The 28-year-old described the app as a ‘halfway house between Tinder and AirBnB’, allowing users to construct their profiles using their properties.
“Its been a long road,” he told the Olive Press, “but it’s all coming together. One of the things we’ve been building up is the swapping functionality.”
This allows people who have been matched (liked each others properties) to start up a conversation and discuss dates. Once agreed you only pay a euro a night through the app.
Asquith, whose grandfather was Spanish, said Spain is ‘a massive target’ for him, especially because ‘there a lot of properties vacant’.
The Englishman also holds the Guiness World Record for being the ‘Youngest person to travel to all sovereign countries’, travelling to 192 countries over five years.
“The benefit of covering globally instead of locally makes the world your oyster,” he said.
The app is available to download now for free on the Apple app store and will be available on Android in two weeks.
Download for free here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/holidayswap/id1313713150?ls=1&mt=8
