Airbnb-Backed Short-Term Rental Operator Reportedly Shutting Down

Short-term rental management company Zeus Living is reportedly handing back its key fobs. 

The San Francisco-based operator, which manages and rents properties out for as short as a month, wrote in an email to its landlords this week that it is “winding down operations,” The Information first reported.

The startup, which launched in 2015, wrote in the email that it was “struggling financially” and would no longer be able to make payments on homes, according to the publication. Zeus is simultaneously laying off all 120 employees, JustLayoffs reported.  

Zeus Living didn't respond to a request for comment. 

The company raised over $150M from investors over its lifetime, including funding from Airbnb as part of its Series B round in 2019. 

It operates in over 125 cities, according to its website, and it reportedly operated more than 5,000 units at its peak. 

The company leases apartments from landlords and then sublets to individuals and corporate partners. It estimates average stays are between two and four months.

The short-term housing market flourished after the onset of the pandemic, when large segments of the population were suddenly able to work from anywhere, and the sector continues to see strong fundamentals. Occupancy in the category was up 12% in October year-over-year and listings were up 14% year-over-year, according to short-term rental data provider AirDNA.

Last November, Airbnb launched a new listing service for apartments, set to include those that allow short-term sublets.

Method Co.’s short-term rental brand, Roost Apartment Hotel, expanded to Baltimore this summer, opened more locations in Philadelphia this fall and plans to move into the Charleston, South Carolina, market in 2024.

Private equity firm TPG is wading into the sector for the first time with an initial purchase of a dozen Florida homes, which it plans to rent out as both nightly hotels and short-term stays.