Stay Inc.
Stay Inc. is a privately held vacation rental marketplace co-founded by HGTV host Scott McGillivray, connecting travelers directly with property managers across 35+ US and Canadian destinations on a no-booking-fee, subscription-based listing model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Stay Inc. does
Stay Inc. operates a direct-to-consumer vacation rental marketplace that connects travelers with professional property managers, eliminating the 15-25% service fees typically charged by established platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo. Founded in 2020 and co-founded by HGTV and Home Network host Scott McGillivray, the company positions itself as a commission-free distribution channel where travelers book directly with hosts and property managers subscribe to listing plans. The platform covers 35+ destinations across the United States and Canada, including Naples FL, Phoenix AZ, Kihei HI, and Canadian getaways, with a curated 'Scott's Stays' sub-brand highlighting properties featured on McGillivray's television shows.
The underlying product is a two-sided web marketplace with traveler-facing search and booking, property manager onboarding and listing management, and a beta AI-powered guided search tool that supports natural language property discovery. The platform does not charge booking fees to travelers and does not intermediate payment; instead, revenue is generated through property manager subscription and listing fees. The company is privately held, operates with 1-10 employees, and has no disclosed institutional funding. Marketing is anchored to the founder's HGTV media presence and supplemented by organic social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), a content blog, and the celebrity-driven 'Scott's Stays' collection. No app, public API, third-party integrations, or disclosed partnerships are present in the available data, indicating an early-stage, bootstrapped operation reliant on founder-driven distribution.
Stay Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stay Inc.
- Website
- https://stayapp.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Stay Inc. is a privately held vacation rental marketplace co-founded by HGTV host Scott McGillivray, connecting travelers directly with property managers across 35+ US and Canadian destinations on a no-booking-fee, subscription-based listing model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stay Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vacation Rental Marketplace
- NAICS
- Other Traveler Accommodation (72119), Traveler Accommodation (7211)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional/Managed Inventory Vacation Rental Marketplaces (THAMALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Extended-Stay & Monthly Rental Marketplaces (30+ Nights) (THAMALAG), Full-Service Vacation Rental Property Management (BPAJAIAA)
Keywords
Where Stay Inc. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Stay Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Property Manager Subscription/Listing Fees: Stay operates as a commission-free distribution channel for property managers. Property managers pay to list on the platform (referenced as 'List Your Property' with plans mentioned), enabling them to receive high-intent inquiries from travelers without traditional platform commissions. Managers keep their pricing, policies, and guest relationships intact.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | No booking fees for travelers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Stay Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stay operates a two-sided vacation rental marketplace that directly connects travelers with property managers and hosts, eliminating the 15-25% booking fees charged by traditional travel platforms. Travelers browse, search, and book verified properties at no extra cost, while property managers subscribe to listing plans to receive direct bookings while retaining full control over pricing, policies, and guest relationships. The platform also features Scott's Stays, a curated collection of handpicked properties, and a beta AI-powered search tool for natural language property discovery.
Product overview
Stay operates as a unified vacation rental marketplace platform with two primary user-facing offerings: a consumer marketplace for travelers to book verified properties directly with hosts without booking fees, and a property manager portal. The platform also features Scott's Stays, a branded sub-collection of handpicked properties curated by co-founder Scott McGillivray. An AI-powered search feature is available in beta at beta.staywithstay.com/guided-search.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Stay Marketplace The main vacation rental marketplace that directly connects travelers with property managers and hosts, eliminating booking fees and middlemen. Travelers can browse and book verified properties with no additional platform service fees.
- Property Manager Platform Commission-free distribution channel for property managers to list properties, receive direct bookings, manage pricing, policies, and guest relationships without paying traditional platform commissions.
- Scott's Stays A branded handpicked collection of standout vacation rental properties curated by co-founder Scott McGillivray, including homes featured on his HGTV shows.
Quantifiable outcome
- Traditional travel platforms charge 15-25% or more in service fees; Stay eliminates these fees
Companies that use Stay Inc.
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Stay Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature1 record
Stay Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Stay Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stay Inc. social profiles
Digital presenceStay Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stay Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Stay Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stay Inc. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stay Inc.
What does Stay Inc. do?
Stay operates a two-sided vacation rental marketplace that directly connects travelers with property managers and hosts, eliminating the 15-25% booking fees charged by traditional travel platforms. Travelers browse, search, and book verified properties at no extra cost, while property managers subscribe to listing plans to receive direct bookings while retaining full control over pricing, policies, and guest relationships. The platform also features Scott's Stays, a curated collection of handpicked properties, and a beta AI-powered search tool for natural language property discovery.
Is Stay Inc. a public or private company?
Stay Inc. is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stay Inc. founded?
Stay Inc. was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Stay Inc. based?
Stay Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Stay Inc. make money?
One revenue line is on record: property Manager Subscription/Listing Fees.
Does Stay Inc. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stay Inc..
What industry is Stay Inc. in?
Stay Inc.'s product category is Vacation Rental Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAMALAB, Professional/Managed Inventory Vacation Rental Marketplaces, with a secondary code of THAMALAG, Extended-Stay & Monthly Rental Marketplaces (30+ Nights). Its NAICS code is 72119 and its SIC code is 6531.