Houston homeowners cash in on pools

By last summer, more homeowners had signed up. Priyam Joshi, marketing director for Swimply, expects 2022 will be its breakout year. In all, about 1 million people have used Simply rentals in 200,000 hours of bookings.

Joshi said the firm’s founder, Bunim Laskin, got the idea years ago when he and his 11 younger siblings wanted a pool to swim in. He offered neighbors money if they’d let them swim in their pool. The business began as one he coordinated by phone to one he operated online, much in the way Airbnb does, with individual homeowners posting opportunities, setting their own fees, posting pictures and waiting for swimmers to contact them.

Right now, about 10,000 home pools are listed, 2,450 of them are in Texas. Houston has about 230 pools registered. Now, Texas hosts earnings average $5,000 a month; Houston hosts average $3,000 a month.

Two Houston hosts are Michael Kukuk, who lives in Eastwood and lists his pool as “Blue Heaven,” and Aryeh and Zehava Wolbe, who live in the Meyerland area and list their pool as “Legend 34.”

Homeowner Michael Kukuk at his backyard patio and pool, along with a clubhouse, that he rents out through Swimply,

The Wolbes’ pool will catch your attention on Swimply.com for the number 34 and the silhouette of a rose installed in tile at the pool’s bottom. Aryeh Wolbe said that Oilers’ great Earl Campbell — whose jersey number was 34 and whose nickname was “The Tyler Rose” — built the house and swimming pool and lived there years ago.

It’s a simple backyard with a concrete patio and a row of young trees along a back wall. There’s a diving board and an outdoor shower but no access to a restroom.

Kukuk’s pool looks more like a tropical paradise tucked behind a tall privacy fence, with plenty of plants and trees, patio seating and a bubbler fountain. Though the 2021 winter freeze ruined his landscaping, the gas and oil executive replaced everything, added furniture and patios and created a small Zen garden perfect for those looking for Instagram-worthy backdrops.

A two-story backyard building is now Kukuk’s “clubhouse,” which he uses as a home office and gym. Guests are free to use its full bathroom as well as a refrigerator for beverages or snacks that they bring.

Both said they signed up to rent out their pools to make extra money, and rates vary by host and by season and whether renters come on a weekday or weekend.

The Wolbes now charge $35 an hour, but that will go up to $60 an hour after Memorial Day. Kukuk charges $60 an hour during the week and $67 an hour on weekends, plus an extra $50 for heating the pool. Some hosts charge by the group size, with a maximum limit and an extra charge for anyone over their limit.

He said his first rental felt a little odd, welcoming strangers to his backyard and then leaving them on their own. By the third booking, though, he was over it and realized that the income would more than pay for the pool’s water and electric bill, plus its weekly cleaning and maintenance.

“I can’t tell you the last time I used the pool, personally, and right now, it’s booked through June,” Kukuk said. “I’ve had little kids’ birthday parties and adult parties. It’s funny, I had a bachelorette party one night and the next morning, a church ladies’ retreat. Last week, it was used by a woman who does underwater photography.”

There have been influencers, too, who rent pool time for photo sessions and don’t necessarily even get wet, Kukuk said.

So far, the Wolbes’ renters have mostly been young families.

“Most of our renters are young families — parents who want to take their kids out for a while, play pool games and play with floats. We want to give people an opportunity to do that,” said Wolbe, a rabbi who moved to Houston to work at TORCH, a Jewish outreach and education center, where he’s executive director.

“Before moving to this house, we didn’t have a pool and always appreciated the opportunity to go with our kids to a pool, especially one that’s private, where neighbors can’t see,” said Wolbe, who with his wife has seven kids, ages 4 through 20.

When renters arrive, the Wolbes pull down the window shades that look into the backyard and tell their children to leave them alone. So far, their renters have all been pleasant and the experiences hassle-free.

For families who rented pool time through Swimply.com last year, it was a way to replace travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

Karla Sainz, a 36-year-old project manager who lives in Bellaire, said that she and her husband, their two children and her mother-in-law used Swimply rentals for a chance to get out of the house.

“In COVID, it was a lifesaver — an opportunity to try different pools and do something different. My mother-in-law is older, so it was great to find this. We weren’t going to our community pool, which we used to go to all of the time. It’s been super fun for the kids. When it’s time to go, they don’t want to leave.”

This year, her kids are playing Little League again, but they’re sticking to outdoor activities.

Kim and Steven Wakefield, who recently moved from Houston to New Jersey, used Swimply once or twice a month during the past year or so when they lived here.

“We are all water babies and love to swim. If we didn’t go to Galveston, we would try to rent local pools,” Kim said. “It felt like leaving Houston for a little bit. We looked for ones with gardens and a lot of tropical décor. We felt transported for the time we were swimming.”

With Swimply rentals serving as mini-vacations, the Wakefields saw each as important family time.

“It was time to disconnect and put our phones away and play games in the pool. It’s a very nice, low-stress time. It’s the memories that we made while we’re there that make us keep booking,” Kim said.

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