Adele

What Adele does

Adele is a French online marketplace, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Paris, that connects students seeking accommodation with student residence operators across France. The platform operates as ADELE, SAS, a privately held company with €1,000,000 in registered capital, and presents itself as the reference platform for student housing in France, aggregating approximately 9,000+ active listings across more than 900 partner residences (excluding Crous public housing) and covering around 150,000 available dwellings in all major French university cities. The service is offered free of charge to students, who can search by city, school, or neighborhood, and who are supported through housing subsidy information (CAF/APL/ALS).

The platform is built on a web-based marketplace architecture with a proprietary digital dossier management system that allows students to assemble their application documents once and submit them to multiple residences with a single click. Supporting features include real-time application tracking with notifications, internal messaging between students and residence managers, and the proprietary iBail online reservation system (registered as a trademark) for digitally reserving future accommodation on selected residences. The underlying infrastructure relies on standard third-party services including Mapbox for mapping, IKoula for hosting, and Google/Facebook for social login. The platform is GDPR/RGPD compliant and registered with the French data protection authority CNIL under number 873417.

Adele's business model is product-led and two-sided: students self-serve at no cost, while revenue is generated from property manager partners who pay listing, application, and commercialization fees, and from an additional paid advisory tier called "My Housing by ADELE" in which a dedicated advisor conducts the housing search on the student's behalf. Marketing is primarily digital — SEO-optimized city landing pages, content marketing via blog articles on housing topics, email newsletters, and a Facebook presence — with additional referral partnerships extending the funnel (guarantor services Garantme/SmartGarant/Visale, energy setup Papernest, student insurance Yvon Assur'Logement from €29/year, and the ISIC student card). The company is lean, with 1-10 disclosed employees, no disclosed funding rounds, and Vincent Dupuy listed as Directeur de la publication. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Adele

Legal name

ADELE, SAS

Website

https://adele.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Adele is a French online marketplace, founded in 1997, connecting students with student residence operators across France. The Paris-based platform aggregates 9,000+ free listings and a digital dossier system, generating revenue from partner listing fees and a paid concierge advisory service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Housing Marketplace

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Information (51)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Student Housing Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (Aggregators) (EDAIALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Housing Marketplaces & Booking Platforms (THAMAGAJ)

Keywords

• Student housing marketplace
• Student accommodation platform
• Residence booking service
• Housing search portal
• Student rental listings

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Partner Listing and Transaction Fees: Revenue is generated from property managers and residence operators (partners) who list on the platform. These partners pay various fees (Frais de réservation, Frais de dossier, Honoraires de commercialisation) which are charged exclusively by partners, not by Adele. The platform is free for students.
2. Paid Advisory Services: My Housing by ADELE is a paid service where students can delegate their housing search to an ADELE advisor, providing an additional revenue stream alongside the free core platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Adele is a free online marketplace that connects students seeking housing with student residence operators across France. The platform aggregates approximately 9,000 listings from over 900 partner residences (including private operators and Crous public housing) and lets students build a reusable digital dossier that can be submitted to multiple residences with one click, with real-time application tracking. Revenue is generated through fees paid by partner residence operators, with an optional paid concierge service (My Housing by ADELE) for personalized search assistance.

Product overview

Adele operates as a student housing platform that connects approximately 9,000 student residence listings across France. The core offering includes the Adele Platform (web-based reservation and dossier management system) and the iBail online reservation tool. A premium add-on service called My Housing by ADELE provides personalized search assistance through dedicated advisors. The platform works exclusively with partner residence operators and does not charge students any fees for using the service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adele Platform Free web-based marketplace that connects students seeking housing with student residence operators across France. Provides 9,000+ listings across 900+ partner residences (private operators and Crous public housing), with digital dossier management for one-click applications and real-time application tracking from a student dashboard.
• iBail Proprietary online reservation system allowing students to digitally reserve their future accommodation through the platform. Available on selected partner residences.
• My Housing by ADELE Paid concierge service where a dedicated Adele advisor handles the housing search on behalf of a student, providing personalized assistance with residence selection and application. Operates as a paid subscription-style service on top of the free platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can apply to multiple residences with a single digital dossier submission
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Les EstudinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1997Major student housing operator with multiple residences listed on Adele's platform. Provides furnished apartments with private bathrooms in various French cities.
• Odalys RésidencescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLarge student housing brand operating residences across France, listed on Adele's platform with studios and apartments for students.
• Nexity StudeacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor student housing operator managed by Nexity, with multiple residences featured on the Adele platform.
• StudélitescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStudent housing management company offering furnished residences with amenities like WiFi, laundry, gym, and cafeteria services.
• VilogiamajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHousing provider operating student residences in France, including properties in Marseille, listed on the platform.
• Student VillagemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorModern student housing operator with premium residences in several French cities including Aix-en-Provence, Massy, Arcueil, and others.
• Crous (regional offices)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic student housing organization with residences across France. Multiple regional Crous offices are listed on the platform (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes, Rennes, Strasbourg, etc.).
• GarantmeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGuarantor service for student housing, offering guarantee solutions to students who need a guarantor. Referenced on residence listings as an accepted guarantee option.
• SmartGarantminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNew generation guarantor service partner. Referenced as an accepted guarantee solution on residence listings.
• VisaleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree housing guarantee from Action Logement, accepted by some residences on the platform as an alternative to traditional guarantors.
• Yvon Assur'LogementminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStudent housing insurance partner offering coverage from €29/year through a partnership with Adele. Covers liability, water damage, fire, theft, and natural disasters.
• PapernestminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEnergy service partner that helps students set up electricity contracts when moving into residences. Adele has selected Papernest to facilitate energy setup for students.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Studapart: Leading French student housing marketplace offering online booking and reservation services across France. Directly competes with Adele on the same core use case — connecting students with furnished residences — and has expanded into multiple European markets.
• Immojeune: French online platform aggregating student rentals, shared apartments, and studios. Targets the same student demographic in France with comparable listings and application tools, making it a direct marketplace competitor to Adele.
• Location-etudiant.com: Established French student rental listings site aggregating private and institutional student housing. Competes head-on with Adele on listings inventory in France and serves the same student search-and-apply journey.

Broad incumbents

• HousingAnywhere: International student housing marketplace operating across Europe with a much larger capital base and broader geographic footprint. Comparable marketplace model for student accommodation booking, though with a pan-European rather than France-only focus.
• Student.com: Global student accommodation booking platform offering international student housing in 400+ cities. Overlaps with Adele on the student-housing marketplace model but focuses on international study destinations rather than a single domestic market.
• Uniplaces: Online marketplace for student accommodation primarily serving Portugal, UK, Italy, and other European markets. Comparable booking and listing experience targeting international and domestic students across Europe.

Emerging players

• Spotahome: Mid-to-long-term rental marketplace with verified listings across European cities. While not exclusively student-focused, it overlaps with Adele on the digital booking and tenant-residence matching model for furnished rentals.

Regional players

• Crous: French public student housing network operating university residences directly. Listed as a partner on Adele's platform but also a partial competitor offering direct student housing allocation in France.

Others

• Nexity Studea: Major French student housing operator owned by Nexity. A core partner on Adele's platform but also operates its own direct booking site, representing both a distribution channel and indirect competitor.
• SeLoger: France's largest general-purpose property listings portal. Not student-focused, but a comparable French online real-estate marketplace whose scale and search traffic shape competitive dynamics in French housing listings broadly.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/logement.etudiant

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Adele