Swimply: Rent Your Pool, Home or Court by the Hour

Got a swimming pool? For the past several years, a site called Swimply has proposed to help you rent out that pool by the hour to people who want to host a pool party or simply swim in a private space. And now the site also allows you to rent out your yard, court — or whole house — by the hour.

But when we re-visited this site in late January of 2025, we were disturbed by some changes in the site’s terms.

In our opinion, Swimply is now the least attractive of a half-dozen sites that help you rent your home, yard or space by the hour.

What is Swimply?

Swimply connects homeowners with people who are looking for a pool, court or home that they can rent by the hour.

How it works

Homeowners register on the site for free, creating a profile and uploading copious pictures of their space. You are able to rent your pool, basketball/tennis/pickleball court or your whole house by the hour at this site. You set your rates for each type of rental and decide whether the rate will hinge on the number of people using the space.

Swimply review

The idea was reportedly launched when the founder, who grew up in New Jersey, started asking his neighbor if he and his friends could pay her to use her pool. The site says that people now charge from $35 to $200 per hour to allow others to do the same.

Set your own rates

You, as the pool owner, can register on the site for free, set your rates and say when your pool is available.

You also set pool rules, including whether you allow infants, pets and large groups. And, you say whether guests are allowed to use a restroom or have access to other amenities, such as pool toys, stereo speakers, barbecues, etc.

Booking options

At that point, you can let Swimply automatically accept bookings on your behalf during the pool’s available hours. Or you can review each request yourself.

If you review requests yourself, you can ask for information about the number of people; the type of event; whether the event will involve smoking, drinking, food, animals or any other item of concern.

When you accept a booking, Swimply collects the payment and takes a 15% commission.

A few cautions

If your pool or other rented space is not available for an agreed-upon booking, you could be charged up to $50 per half hour until the pool is available as scheduled. If you cancel a booking at the last minute, you are subject to a cancelation fee. Guests are too.

Exclusivity?

Additionally, when we re-visited the site’s terms in January 2025, they had added provisions that say you are not allowed to rent a property listed on Swimply anywhere else.

This would prevent you from listing your property on competing — and arguably better — sites, such as PeerSpace, Giggster, Avvay and Splacer. We believe this is a misprint in the terms because Swimply allows you to list your space automatically via these other platforms. It would be bizarre to then bar you from maintaining your listing on the competing platforms. Nonetheless, this is in the site’s terms, which serve as a legal contract between you and Swimply. And no one from Swimply responded to SideHusl.com emails requesting clarification as of press time. This review will be updated as soon as they do.

Specifically, the site’s terms say:

1. You agree not to list, rent, or book any Venue listed on the Swimply Platform through means outside the Swimply Platform. You may not use the Swimply Platform, Swimply Content, or Content to facilitate or enter Venue rental transactions independent of the Swimply Platform. If a Member violates this rule, they agree, in addition to all other remedies available to Swimply, to pay Swimply the fees they would have incurred if the rental had been confirmed through a Booking on the Swimply Platform.
2. You agree not to accept or make a payment for a Booking outside the Swimply Platform.

Change your rates?!

Another disturbing addition to the site’s terms says that Swimply can change your rates at its discretion. In other words, you could be forced to host guests at your house for free.

1. Swimply Price Discretion. Swimply, in its sole discretion, may increase or discount a Host’s listed Venue Fee or a Guest Fee in any manner it deems appropriate, including but not limited to providing promotional codes to Guests.

Insurance

The site also used to offer $1 million in liability protection and up to $10,000 in property damage coverage. That was noticeably absent when we updated this review. This is significant because swimming pools are inherently dangerous.

Even if the site did still cover liability, we’d suggest that you talk to your own homeowner’s insurance agent about whether you need additional coverage if you rent out your home, court or pool. Personal liability policies are often void when using personal property for commercial purposes.

Deposits

Many sites also allow homeowners to require that renters put down a deposit, to ensure against breakage and damage during the rental. Swimply allows homeowners to require deposits only when a renter is bringing a group of 30 or more.

You set the deposit amount. However, you must file a claim for any losses within 24 hours of the rental’s completion or Swimply will return the deposit to the renter and the owner will have no further recourse.

Recommendations

If you have a pool that’s not getting much use and you don’t mind sharing it with strangers, Swimply is one of the options. But it’s one of the least attractive options, given the site’s ability to change your rates and block you from listing elsewhere, according to its terms. You can find Swimply here.

Better sites that help you earn passive income by renting out your space, or a portion of it, include PeerSpace, Avvay, Splacer and Giggster.

Got spare storage space? Neighbor and Stache can help you rent it out by the month. And Sniffspot helps you rent out your yard to people looking for a private dog park by the hour.

What their hosts say (from Reddit)

I have made $2,500. I rent for $30 hour and $5 per person after 5 people. Made my profile with the aerial photos from my houses listing when I bought, as well as the nice wide angle photos they took of the whole back yard. My pool is decent size (no hot tub) I started early June and have booked parties every weekend. Amenities I provide are a BT speaker, grill, trash cans, and bathroom.

*Updated 1/30/2025