Jetsetter unveils AirBnB rival Jetsetter Homes

The luxury vacation home rentals will vie with other vacation rental services for the top spenders

Looking at some of the vacation home rental deals on Gilt’s Jetsetter.com, I’m reminded of the fact that I got into the wrong career field.  If I had majored in engineering or physics, maybe I’d have a shot at affording one of these luxurious properties.  But alas…I went into the humanities.  Mothers, don’t let your babies grow up to be English majors.  

But I digress.  Today, Gilt’s Jetsetter unveiled its new vacation homes rental service Jetsetter Homes, which will compete with heavyweight contenders in the space, like AirBnB and Homeaway.  Unlike those two, Jetsetter Homes will be in the business of luxury.

What does that mean?  That means effing Cliffside Italian villas, man!  These aren’t small potatoes.  For example, the six-bedroom, six-bath Casa Felice Matteuci in Tuscany, which is on a 45-acre estate, is available for $2,626 a night.  Or, if you’re in the mood for some waves and steel drums, you can go to the Bahamas and rent the five-bedroom, four-bath, 10,000-square-foot Villa Nandana for $8,000 a night.

Jetsetter Homes includes over 200 luxury properties from Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, the western United States, Hawaii, and Costa Rica.  Each week, Jetsetter will feature five to ten homes on sale for 20-50% off.  But generally speaking, prices vary from roughly $300 a night to $53,000 a night.  What can you get for $53,000 a night, you ask?  You get the luxury of being able to tell everyone that you spent a $53,000 night in Richard Branson’s 14-bedroom mansion on a private Caribbean island.

Obviously, if you’re going to be forking up $53,000 per night, you want to know what you’re getting, which is why Jetsetter Homes offers 360-degree photo tours, allowing users to take a virtual tour of the house to see if it’s up to snuff.

Additionally, users will get the peace of mind of knowing that each property was hand-curated and verified by a Jetsetter curator who actually visited the home in person to provide an objective review. 

"Booking a vacation rental through Jetsetter Homes is like renting from a travel-savvy friend with homes all over the world," said Jetsetter founder and CEO Drew Patterson, in a statement. "Members trust Jetsetter to feature only the best-in-class properties in desirable locations and to provide an objective review. They know their money is safe with Jetsetter. And, if there are any problems, Jetsetter's dedicated Members Service team is available to assist at any time."

At this point, few can forget AirBnB’s “EJ” fiasco, in which a host came home to find her apartment trashed and burglarized.  The woman, who has been going by the name EJ, later accused AirBnB of failing to respond to her calls for several hours.  Is Jetsetter taking a note from AirBnB’s screw-up?