A new app has been launched that helps travelers find a last-minute place to crash.
It's called Overnight, and to use it, you use it to post that you're in town and what brings you there. That's broadcast to the area and would-be hosts read your listing and ideally, offer you space in their place.
Users register with their Facebook profiles, pay via the app (adding a degree of protection), and the app employs customer service reps to smooth transactions. The setup also steers clear of many cities' anti-Airbnb legislation since the host is renting out extra space in their home, not keeping a whole unit empty for paying visitors.
When the stay is over, the app collects reviews of the experience.
The app, whose owners claim 15,000 members so far, launched three months ago in Los Angeles and San Francisco and is expanding to New York and London soon. The market is cluttered with homestay sites—will this one catch on?
