Wednesday, February 27, 2013

DogVacay Tallies Up Doggie Sleepovers

DogVacay, the online, peer-to-peer marketplace which connects dog owners with other owners and dog sitters, has tallied up the number of nights over the last year, and says that there were over 80,000 nights of stays driven through the site since the startup opened its doors. The startup--led by Aaron Hirschhorn--also said that it has grown to 24 employees, up from only 5 when the company started exactly a year ago.

DogVacay is one of the startups to emerge out of the Science, Inc. startup incubator, and has garnered funding from such investors as Andreessen Horowitz, Baroda Ventures, Benchmark Capital, First Round Capital, and Quest Ventures. The company lets anyone sign up as a host to take care of other dog owners' pets--running them through background checks and a qualification process--and is aimed at letting dog owners find someone like themselves to take care of their dog while they're on vacation, rather than turning their beloved pets over to an impersonal kennel.

The company also said it has now paid out more than $2M to hosts, who are paid an average of $28 per night to board dogs. The company said those 80,000 nights were split across 15,000 bookings.

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