Can the gig-economy help hotel housekeeping?: Assaf Karmon, TurnoverBNB

Show Notes

Assaf is the Co-Founder and CEO of TurnoverBNB, a platform for short-term rental hosts and cleaners to connect and automatically manage their vacation rental cleaning schedules.

Back before the pandemic, I had several conversations with various providers about outsourcing my entire Housekeeping department. Since those days, gig-work has become more mainstream and outsourcing entire departments may simply be trading one set of issues for another - namely the ability to find and retain staff.

That’s why this conversation is so interesting to me. The short term rental space has been using gig-workers who set their own rates and availability for years but short of hiring temp-workers in hotels, this hasn’t been a source of employees that has been explored at any great depth.

And while I can hear all the reasons why hiring a gig-worker in housekeeping won’t work, if you’re struggling with recruiting or retention, this option deserves a look even if it means that your operation would have to bend a little to accommodate.

I continue to be amazed by the overlap between short-term rentals and hotels, and this conversation has the wheels turning about where the former can help the later and raise the bar for everyone.

About Assaf

Born in Israel, Assaf went on to study computer science at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Following college, he moved to the U.S. and worked for

a few startups in New York City before relocating to Boston to work as an engineer at Nokia. Ultimately, his academic pursuits led him to the University of Hawaii where he earned his MBA through the Shidler College of Business. While in business school, he met his soon-to-be business partner, Tim Roy.

Building a software business had always enticed Assaf. In their final semester of business school, he and Tim developed a business plan that would eventually become TurnoverBnB. In June 2017, they launched TurnoverBnB as the premier tool for short-term rental hosts and cleaners to connect and automatically manage their vacation rental cleaning schedules.

Assaf is married and has two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time outdoors and watching Manchester City play.