Mere months after ROOM8 launched its app to optimize co-living through roommate matching and apartment search services, the emergence of COVID-19 gave it new purpose. Modifications added in April to the features of last October’s launch help users navigate the intimate process of vetting potential roommates and looking for apartments virtually from the comfort and safety of their homes. These include in-app audio and video calling capabilities, as well as a partnership with Google Street View Trusted Agency, LCP360 to provide immersive 360 virtual apartment tours, drone photography and built-in virtual meetings with leasing professionals. All matching and communication is done in-app, so users’ personal information is kept private and secure.
“We’re using AI/IoT tech to provide renters with a stable matching market for roommates and to ensure a safe search for a place, which can now all be done virtually and safely using our platform,” says Dan Mathews, CTO of ROOM8. “So many people have lost their jobs or been furloughed during this pandemic and they are now in need of new living arrangements and roommates to share housing costs. It can take months to find the right co-living arrangement during normal times, let alone during a time with stay at home orders and social distancing. ROOM8 is here to help ease renters’ concerns during this uncertain time.”
ROOM8 has offices in San Francisco and Scottsdale but is available to users in all major cities nationwide through the App Store and Google Play. Unlike other co-living platforms and roommate matching apps, ROOM8 provides user verification and partners directly with property management companies to offer trusted listings in real time. The app is free to use for both potential renters and for property managers to post listings, and is monetized through partnerships with prominent Tier 1 insurance companies, with Liberty Mutual its first major partner.
Photo courtesy of ROOM8
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