Airbnb Meets OkCupid in New Room-Sharing Site
LoveRoom.com founder says platform will help connect singles all over the world.
Nov. 19, 2013— -- A new site marketed toward singles suggests love can be found through sharing a room. Not by signing a lease together, rather just for a night while traveling.
LoveRoom, which launched in Beta earlier this month, connects singles who are "sharing a room" or "seeking a room" for free. Account profiles on the site require answering questions that will "help other users get to know you better," via personal interests and taste in home decor.
"We want to help you find interesting people to stay with," LoveRoom founder Josh Bocanegra told ABC News. "So it's not just about sharing with complete strangers. It's about sharing with those who spark your interest, those who you might have a connection with."
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Initially advertised as "Airbnb for attractive people," Bocanegra has since tweaked his description to be more universal.
"It's more of an Airbnb for single people," he said. "Everyone's attractive to someone."
Unlike Airbnb, however, the site doesn't charge "seekers" for sharing a home. LoveRoom simply provides a space to peruse possibly good-looking hosts, which on its face seems more akin to the "casual encounters" section of Craigslist.
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Detractors of the startup say the message behind LoveRoom is confusing, with columnists on Business Insider, Mashable, and L.A. Business Journal questioning whether the site fills any real need in the marketplace.
But according to Bocanegra, some singles have found the purpose to be crystal clear.
"We have over 700 users now," the founder wrote in an e-mail to ABC News. Most range in age from 25 to 35 and represent various ethnicities, he said. The majority are based New York and Los Angeles.
He stressed that LoveRoom is still in a state of evolution. If users request an ability to charge for sharing a space then the company may add that function in the future. Bocanegra also noted that the site is not simply for the heterosexual and viril set.
"We're also gay and bi friendly," he said. "So women can search for women and men can search for men."
The official launch is targeted for Valentine's Day 2014.