As DC home prices continue to rise, city homeowners are always on the hunt for new ways to help pay the mortgage. That often means renting out basements, rooms or even couches to the city’s constant influx of visitors. While there is no shortage of tourists, homeowners are seeing the benefits of hosting some of DC’s medium-term visitors: the more than 40,000 interns who flock to DC each year.

Enter Roomsie.

Roomsie is an online rental marketplace that matches local homeowners with interns and students in need of housing. Roomsie founder Jacob Chaney took ten years of experience, expertise and customer feedback as CEO of the Washington Intern Housing Network and poured it into this new, one-of-a-kind platform. 

“I’ve spoken with a large number of students who have worked hard in their academic careers in order to land coveted intern positions but who couldn’t afford housing in DC and had to forgo amazing opportunities,” says Chaney.

Like other short-term rental marketplaces, Roomsie manages everything from tenant screening to digital leases, while creating a community among renters via networking and social events. Most intern and student programs typically last 14 weeks, so Roomsie hosts see less turnover than other short-term properties. Compared to a 12-month rental model, hosting on Roomsie has shown to increase a homeowner’s monthly rental income by 34 percent.

Roomsie also provides hosts with profiles of potential renters, and guarantees monthly payments by collecting rent upfront and covering any defaults or rent deficiencies.

“We’re really looking for engaged hosts to respond to the overwhelming demand for intern and student housing,” says Chaney. “Whether or not you got your start as an intern or student in DC, hosting on Roomsie is a great opportunity to both make money and give back.”

Roomsie is gearing up for the summer, which is peak intern season, but the company also facilitates thousands of rentals throughout the year and is now actively recruiting hosts.

For more information and to learn about how to become host, visit Roomsie online here; or get in touch with the platform's Community Manager Robert Brixton at 202-335-5549 or robert.brixton@roomsie.com.