Just because your religion has strict modesty standards doesn’t mean you don’t like to swim with your friends. At least that’s the idea behind Shvimply, a pool-rental site that’s targeted at conservative religious groups.
What is Shvimply?
A derivation of broader pool-rental site Swimply, Shvimply focuses on super-private spaces that can meet the modesty demands of some religious groups, including Orthodox Jews, traditional Muslims and Evangelical Christians. The reason: Public pools are often in conflict with the modesty standards of these conservative religious groups.
Shvimply provides private spaces where members of these religious groups can book single-sex swims.
How it works
Shvimply works exactly like Swimply:
You register with the site, upload photos of your pool (or yard; house; tennis court…whatever you’re planning to rent out); decide how much you want to charge per hour, the maximum number of guests, and other details, such as whether you will be onsite when guests arrive.
The site posts your details and notifies you when someone wants to book your space. If you agree, Shvimply collects payment and remits it to you, minus a commission, when the booking is complete.
The only difference between Shvimply and Swimply is that Shvimply wants all the pools listed on the site to be particularly private, providing shelter from public viewing. And, it discourages hosts from posting photos of bikini-clad bathers that someone religious might find offensive.
Indeed, if you have a listing like that on Swimply, it will automatically be listed on sister site Shvimply too.
Shvimply review
Shvimply aims to solve a simple problem. Public pools are often incompatible with the modesty standards of some faith-based communities. Private pools are an obvious answer and, while these can be rented already through Swimply, Shvimply aims to market directly to it’s targeted religious groups.
These include Orthodox Jews, Muslim, and Evangelical Christian groups.
“We’re meeting the needs of millions of Americans whose values and religious commitments often leave them excluded from mainstream recreational options,” said Swimply CEO Bunim Laskin. “Shvimply offers them access without compromise.”
The platform’s standout feature is ensuring absolute privacy. Every pool listed guarantees full visual seclusion from hosts, neighbors, and passersby.
Privacy
Generally speaking, hosts are expected to let their guests know whether they will be onsite when the pool is rented or if they provide access in another way. If you’re on site, you are supposed to give swimmers real privacy, which is particularly important with these religious groups that so value modesty.
Unlike Swimply, Shvimply’s interface removes any imagery that could be considered immodest. No swimwear photos, no pool parties. Just serene, private spaces where men or women can swim separately and privately.
Commissions and fees
Shvimply, like Swimply, charges a 20-30% commission on all bookings. The site says the commission can vary from booking to booking and can be rounded to the next full dollar.
Insurance
While that commission rate is relatively high for a home rental site, it includes insurance coverage. Many of the other hourly home rental sites don’t. In this case, Shvimply provides $1 million in liability insurance coverage and coverage for up to $10,000 in property damage protection. (There is a $250 deductible on the property coverage for reservations involving 10 or fewer guests and a $500 deductible with larger groups.)
Recommendations
Shvimply and Swimply are largely the same entity and they’re one of the few that specializes in renting out pools. We like this site primarily for the insurance coverage because pools present risks and this site does a good job of acknowledging that. You can find Shvimply here.
If you like to rent out your space — not necessarily just your pool — we’d also recommend Giggster, Peerspace, Avvay, and Sniffspot. These sites provide hourly rentals to filmmakers, photographers and dog-owners. (You can find detailed reviews of each by following the links above.)
