Metro-Rentals.com

What Metro-Rentals.com does

Metro-Rentals.com is a privately held, curated online advertising and marketing platform that connects property owners and managers with prospective tenants across 24-plus neighborhoods in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. Unlike open rental marketplaces, the platform does not allow self-posting; instead, Metro-Rentals.com vets each listing for accurate pricing, real-unit photography, and complete address information before publishing. Tenants access listings at no cost, while property owners and managers pay to advertise. The company emerged from the founder's personal Columbus rental property practice (begun in 1981) and was formalized as a standalone advertising business around 1994, making it an early web-native entrant in the rental-listing space.

The platform's core product is the neighborhood-centric metro-rentals.com website, supported by an affiliated mobile-optimized site at QRthisPlace.com launched in 2014 and by an early-adopter QR code integration introduced in 2008. Metro-Rentals.com produces walk-through video tours and professional photography for advertised properties at no additional charge, positioning content quality as the differentiator versus free self-service listing sites. Additional product lines include a Featured Owners program for high-volume property managers, commercial real estate listings, and sublet advertising services.

Revenue is generated primarily through advertising fees paid by property owners and managers, with quote-based pricing and multi-year contracts; specific rates are not publicly disclosed. The company operates with 11-50 employees from Columbus, Ohio, has no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment, and is owned by the founder and/or family. Customer-acquisition channels include neighborhood landing pages optimized for organic search, a YouTube channel hosting video tours, and QR codes linking mobile users to QRthisPlace.com for expanded property detail.

Name

Metro-Rentals.com

Legal name

Metro-Rentals.com

Website

https://metro-rentals.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Metro-Rentals.com is a privately held, curated online advertising platform connecting Columbus, Ohio metro property owners and managers with prospective tenants through verified, neighborhood-organized listings, video tours, and QR-code mobile access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rental Property Advertising

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Local/Regional Vacation Rental Marketplaces (Geo-Focused Platforms) (THAMALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Build-to-Rent (BTR) Community Management (BPAJAFAC)

Keywords

• Rental property advertising
• Apartment listing platform
• Video tour marketing
• Property listing service
• Residential rental marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Property Owner Advertising Fees: Metro-Rentals.com charges property owners and managers to advertise their rental units on the website. This is the primary revenue stream. Owners pay for ad placement with requirements for accurate pricing, photos, and specific addresses.
2. Sublet Advertising: Residents can advertise apartments or homes for sublet through the platform, with authorization from property management

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Metro-Rentals.com is an online advertising and marketing platform that lists residential and commercial rental properties across 24+ Columbus, Ohio metro neighborhoods. Property owners and managers pay the company to advertise their units; Metro-Rentals handles content creation, including professional photography and walk-through video tours, and does not allow self-posting ads. Listings are organized by neighborhood, with each unit verified by staff for accuracy and presented with property-specific photos and video tours to prevent rental scams.

Product overview

Metro-Rentals.com is a single, unified online advertising platform for rental properties in the Columbus metro area. The core product is the Metro-Rentals.com website itself, which operates alongside its affiliated QRthisPlace.com for detailed property information. The platform offers video tour creation as a complementary service included with advertising packages, and features a Featured Owners program for property managers with regular availability. Commercial listings and sublet advertising services extend the platform's capabilities beyond residential rental marketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QRthisPlace.com: Affiliated website containing detailed property information accessible via QR codes, integrated with Metro-Rentals.com listings.

Products and services

• Metro-Rentals.com Advertising Platform A neighborhood-centric online advertising platform for residential and commercial rental properties in the Columbus, Ohio metro area. Property owners pay to have units advertised, with Metro-Rentals verifying accuracy, capturing photos, and producing video tours. Tenants browse 24+ neighborhood-specific listings for free.
• QRthisPlace.com An affiliated mobile-optimized property listing website containing detailed unit information, property-specific photos, video tours, and contact forms for rental units advertised on Metro-Rentals.com. Most advertisement links redirect here for expanded property details.
• Video Tour Production Professional walk-through video tours of rental properties created by Metro-Rentals for property owners. Included at no additional charge with advertising packages to effectively market properties and provide tenants with realistic unit previews.
• Featured Owners Program A premium listing program highlighting owners and managers who regularly have apartment homes available, providing enhanced visibility for high-volume property managers and landlords advertising on the platform.
• Commercial Listings Commercial real estate advertising services for office spaces and unique properties in the Columbus area, including historic buildings and mixed-use spaces, extending the platform beyond residential rentals.
• Sublet Advertising Advertising service allowing residents to sublet their apartment or home through Metro-Rentals.com, with authorization from their property management company required before the listing goes live.

Quantifiable outcome

• Listings updated multiple times daily throughout the day
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• QRthisPlace.comcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1990QRthisPlace.com is Metro-Rentals.com's affiliated website that contains much of the same property listing information. Most advertisement links redirect to QRthisPlace.com for detailed unit information, photos, video tours, and contact forms. The relationship enables mobile-optimized property viewing and QR code marketing capabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Zillow: The dominant U.S. real estate marketplace, including rentals via Zillow Rental Manager. Comparable in that property owners advertise rentals and renters browse for free; vastly broader scale, free basic listings, and growing accuracy initiatives directly compete with Metro-Rentals' positioning.
• Trulia: National real estate marketplace owned by Zillow Group, including a rentals vertical. Comparable paid-listing marketplace model; vastly larger scale, but Metro-Rentals differentiates via deeper local Columbus curation and staff verification.
• Craigslist: Long-standing classifieds platform with a major rentals section. Comparable as a free alternative where landlords self-post, and effectively the source of much of the scam/inaccuracy problem Metro-Rentals.com explicitly positions itself against.
• Apartments.com: The largest U.S. apartment listing marketplace, owned by CoStar Group. Comparable to Metro-Rentals.com as a paid-listing apartment marketing platform connecting property owners with renters, but operating at national scale with broader inventory and increasingly similar verification and 3D-tour features.
• Zillow Rental Manager: Zillow's free self-service tool for landlords to post rental listings. Comparable as a property-owner-facing advertising product with dramatically larger audience and free pricing, directly pressuring Metro-Rentals.com's paid placement model.
• Apartment Guide: National apartment rental search and advertising platform (owned by Redfin). Comparable as a paid advertising model for property managers with curated listings; broader reach than Metro-Rentals.com but similar landlord-customer relationship.

Direct peers

• HotPads: Map-based apartment rental search platform owned by Zillow Group. Comparable in providing curated, location-organized apartment listings with rich media, though operating nationally with a stronger tech stack and direct integration with Zillow's traffic funnel.
• PadMapper: Map-centric apartment and rental listing aggregator that pulls listings from multiple sources. Comparable as a rental search platform focused on urban inventory, though PadMapper operates nationally and is aggregator-based rather than a direct paid-advertising model.
• Rentable: Apartment rental search platform operating in multiple U.S. metros with curated listings and a renter-focused UX. Comparable as a multi-metro rental marketplace competing against national players; Rentable has raised VC and serves multiple cities versus Metro-Rentals' single market.
• Apartment List: Apartment rental marketplace emphasizing verified listings, personalization, and curated inventory. Comparable to Metro-Rentals.com in emphasizing accuracy, anti-scam measures, and renter-friendly features, but with national reach and venture backing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHmPd8Ps-LeX2b35MkFrWlw
• Xx.com/ColumbusRentals
• Facebookfacebook.com/Metro-Rentalscom-100065173593061

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Metro-Rentals.com