What Sharik does

Sharik (شارك) is a Saudi Arabia-based short-term rental platform that connects property owners with guests seeking furnished accommodations such as apartments, rest houses, chalets, villas, and hotel rooms across major Saudi cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Dammam, Al Khobar, Abha, and Tabuk. The platform is structured around a self-serve model where property owners register units, upload photos, and set nightly prices through a dedicated owner portal (owner.sharik.app), while guests browse and book units on the main consumer platform (sharik.app). The company monetizes via a 10% commission on each nightly booking, with property owners retaining the remaining 90% after each stay.

The core technical product is the Sharik Concierge (كونسيرج شارك), an AI-powered conversational agent that operates 24/7 to handle guest inquiries, confirm bookings, and issue digital access codes to guests' mobile phones approximately one hour before arrival for keyless entry via smart locks. This autonomous agent essentially replaces front-desk and guest communication functions, allowing owners to run short-term rental operations with minimal direct involvement. The platform also features a security deposit mechanism to cover potential unit damages.

Sharik was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Riyadh's Al Yasmeen district. It is led by founder and CEO Jamal Al Bugmi, and has raised at least $670,394 in a July 2021 funding round led by Scopeer. The company's go-to-market is product-led and self-serve on both sides of the marketplace, relying primarily on organic search and word-of-mouth among Saudi property owners rather than paid acquisition. No select enterprise customers, named partnerships, management team beyond the founder, patents, awards, or institutional investors beyond Scopeer are disclosed in the source data.

Name

Sharik

Legal name

شارك — منصة الإيجار الذكي

Website

https://sharik.app

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sharik (شارك) is a Saudi Arabia-based short-term rental marketplace connecting individual property owners with guests across major Saudi cities. It operates on a 10% commission model, with an AI concierge (كونسيرج شارك) automating guest communication, bookings, and smart-lock check-in.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Short-term rental marketplace

NAICS

Real Estate Property Managers (53131), Residential Property Managers (531311)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Vacation Rental Property Management (BPAJAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Full-Service Vacation Rental Property Management (THAMAKAA), Vacation Rental Compliance, Licensing & Tax Administration (BPAJAIAN)

Keywords

• Short-term rentals
• Vacation rental platform
• Peer-to-peer rentals
• AI concierge service
• Smart property management

Headquarters

HQ city

Al Khobar

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commission on Bookings: Sharik charges a 10% commission on the nightly rate set by the property owner. The owner receives 90% of the booking price directly after each stay. Guests pay the listed price plus 15% tax and 2.5% banking fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Sharik operates a peer-to-peer short-term rental platform for furnished apartments, rest houses, chalets, villas, and hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia. Property owners list units through a self-serve owner portal, while an AI-powered concierge (كونسيرج شارك) handles guest inquiries, booking confirmations, and digital smart-lock entry code delivery 24/7. Sharik retains a 10% commission per booking, with the owner receiving 90% of the nightly rate.

Product overview

Sharik (شارك) is a smart rental platform based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, operating on a platform-plus-AI architecture. The core offering is the Sharik Concierge (كونسيرج شارك), an AI-powered concierge that manages the entire rental lifecycle from customer inquiry to key handover. Property owners list units (apartments, rest houses, chalets, villas, hotel rooms) through the owner portal (owner.sharik.app), while the AI concierge handles bookings and customer service 24/7, with property owners receiving 90% of revenue minus a 10% commission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sharik short-term rental platform Online marketplace where individual property owners in Saudi Arabia can list furnished apartments, rest houses, chalets, villas, and hotel rooms, and where individual travelers/guests can browse and book short-term stays. Pricing is set by the owner; Sharik earns a 10% commission per booking.

Quantifiable outcome

• Owners receive 90% of nightly rate; Sharik retains 10% commission.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Airbnb: The dominant global peer-to-peer vacation rental marketplace. Operates actively in Saudi Arabia with host-side commission model closely comparable to Sharik's 10% take rate on short-term furnished rentals.
• Vrbo: Vacation rental marketplace focused on whole-home short-term stays, comparable to Sharik's furnished apartment/villa/chalet inventory. Operates globally and competes in the Saudi tourism corridor.
• Vacasa: Full-service vacation rental property manager that handles the entire guest lifecycle (marketing, booking, concierge, cleaning) for owners on a commission basis — the same operating model Sharik replicates with AI automation.
• Evolve Vacation Rental: Full-service vacation rental manager using a lighter-touch, tech-enabled model with a commission per booking — directly comparable to Sharik's owner-friendly 10% take-rate and self-serve onboarding.

Others

• Guesty: Software platform (PMS + channel manager + automation) powering professional short-term rental managers. Sharik is a vertically integrated user/competitor of this category, building proprietary AI concierge on top of booking flows.
• Hostaway: Vacation rental PMS and channel manager for property managers; provides multi-channel automation tools. Comparable as enabling infrastructure for the same end-customers Sharik serves.
• Turno: Automation platform for vacation rental turnover, cleaning, and operations. Comparable as an automation layer that Sharik's AI concierge partially subsumes for the Saudi market.

Broad incumbents

• Booking.com: Global travel super-app with a large vacation rental inventory alongside hotels. Competes head-on in Saudi short-term rental demand but offers a much broader portfolio.

Emerging players

• Houfy: Commission-based peer-to-peer vacation rental marketplace with no host fees in some tiers. Closest international analogue to Sharik's owner-favorable pricing and direct-booking ethos.
• Sonder: Tech-enabled short-term rental operator combining hotel-style consistency with apartment inventory. Comparable in applying technology to standardize a fragmented short-term rental experience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Sharik_app
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sharikapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sharik