Homelike

# Homelike: A Technology Company Overview

High-Level Overview

Homelike was an online B2B marketplace for furnished temporary housing that ceased operations in March 2025.[4][5] Founded in 2014 (established in 2015 according to some sources), the company built a tech-enabled platform designed to simplify extended apartment rentals for corporate clients, executives, professionals, expatriates, and trainees.[1][2] At its peak, Homelike maintained a portfolio of over 70,000 furnished properties across more than 450 cities in seven European countries and the United States, positioning itself as Europe's leading marketplace for 30+ day rentals.[4][5]

The company's core mission was to replace time-consuming, agency-driven rental processes with a seamless digital experience. Homelike offered features including instant bookings, recurring payments, invoice management, and digital rental contracts—services that addressed a genuine market pain point in the extended-stay accommodation sector.[3] The platform generated significant value for both property owners and tenants: in 2021 alone, the company achieved double-digit month-over-month revenue growth (2x above pre-pandemic levels) and helped property owners generate 3x more rental income compared to the previous year.[3]

Origin Story

Homelike was founded by Dustin Figge and Christoph Kasper, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany.[2][5] The founders identified a clear market inefficiency: hotels were prohibitively expensive for extended stays, while unfurnished apartments were impractical for temporary relocations. This observation became the genesis for Homelike's platform.

The company gained particular momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote work flexibility drove significant demand for extended-stay accommodations.[3] By 2021, Homelike had achieved steady double-digit growth and expanded internationally, eventually launching in the United States as one of its most requested new markets.[3] Over its decade-long operation, the platform accumulated substantial user trust and a robust property portfolio, establishing itself as a go-to solution for corporate medium- and long-term rentals in Northern Europe.

Core Differentiators

• Tech-Enabled Automation: Homelike replaced manual, offline processes with instant bookings, automated recurring payments, and digital contracts—reducing friction for both tenants and landlords.

• Quality Curation: All apartments met specific business requirements regarding amenities, size, and location, with properties vetted to ensure professional standards.[1]

• Administrative Support: The platform provided value-added services including VAT-compliant invoicing, availability management, price recommendations backed by real-time data, and dedicated account managers.[1][3]

• International Scale: With presence across 100+ cities and 450+ cities at its peak, Homelike offered one of Europe's largest portfolios of furnished apartments specifically designed for business travelers.[1][4]

• Tenant Quality: The platform attracted a high-quality, international client base that typically rented for 90 days on average, providing property owners with consistent, reliable demand.[3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Homelike rode the wave of digitization in real estate operations and the structural shift toward flexible work arrangements. The company emerged at an inflection point where remote work normalized extended relocations, creating demand for accommodation solutions that traditional hospitality (hotels) and residential real estate (long-term leases) failed to address efficiently.

The platform's success reflected broader trends: the rise of the gig economy and remote work, increasing demand for flexible housing, and the digitalization of traditionally offline industries. Homelike's tech stack—leveraging cloud infrastructure (AWS), content management systems, and modern web technologies—demonstrated how software could streamline a fragmented, relationship-driven market.[2]

However, the company ultimately could not sustain operations in an increasingly competitive landscape. In March 2025, after 10 years in business, Homelike announced it was ceasing operations and would no longer accept new bookings.[4][5] The company's digital assets, including its domain, logo, and branding, were subsequently acquired by Italy-based Roomless Srl (operating as Spacest.com) in July 2025, with traffic redirected to the acquiring platform.[4]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Homelike's closure underscores the challenges of building sustainable unit economics in the flexible accommodation space, despite strong product-market fit and significant user adoption. The company demonstrated that technology alone cannot overcome structural market pressures—whether related to unit economics, competitive intensity, or changing market dynamics.

The acquisition by Spacest.com suggests the market for extended-stay rentals remains viable, but consolidation may be necessary for profitability. Homelike's legacy—its brand reputation, property network, and user base—lives on through its acquirer, which now positions itself as the European benchmark for high-quality flexible rentals.[4] For the broader tech ecosystem, Homelike's trajectory illustrates both the opportunity in digitizing fragmented real estate markets and the difficulty of achieving sustainable growth in capital-light, margin-constrained businesses.