Traveling solo as a woman has become more prevalent amongst millennials. Companies have noticed and they are working towards making travel more accommodating and safe for women.
One of the companies paving the way is Golightly, a platform for women to rent vacation properties. The platform launched last Wednesday and offers properties all owned or managed by women. The app only rents spaces to women, but they can also bring men with them.
The company is based in Austin, Texas and is the creation of Victoria O’Connell, who came up with the idea after having a bad experience renting out a home in London. The property was destroyed by a group of men who rented out the property.
O’Connell tells USA TODAY, “I felt that I would never be comfortable renting out my home again, and I wanted to figure out a way to change that and feel safe again. I travel frequently and also stay in vacation rentals often, so I had to find a way to get back to it.”
The Golightly website states: “As a private club, Golightly carefully vets each member and property listing. Our goal is to provide a safer and more secure travel experience. Listings and member profiles are only available within the Golightly network to protect the privacy of our community.”
Currently, the platform is only invite-only and wants to create a community of women travelers. Members are given five invites to send to other women. If you want to join and haven’t been invited, you can fill out an online form here.
Lifetime memberships for Golightly are $100 with a 10% transaction fee for guests and a 5% fee for hosts, according to USA TODAY.
Most of the rentals are in the U.S. and Europe with hopes to grow more globally.