Overnight

Overnight was a mobile-first platform targeting the niche market of last-minute, same-day accommodation rentals. Founded in 2015 by Asher Hunt, the company aimed to connect travelers needing spontaneous lodging with local hosts who had available space. Hunt, who also co-founded the sustainable personal care brand Bite Toothpaste Bits, brought a background in design and engineering to the venture. He previously contributed to scaling the social video platform Chill.com and designed the mobile support chat SDK for Look.io, which was later acquired.

The business operated in the peer-to-peer travel accommodation sector, positioning itself as a more streamlined alternative to established players like Airbnb for spontaneous trips. Its core service was an on-demand mobile application. A prospective guest would drop a pin on a map in their desired area and describe their request. This request was then broadcast to a network of suitable, pre-vetted hosts in that vicinity. Unlike platforms where users browse through extensive listings, Overnight's model only revealed a host's space to a guest after the host had reviewed the guest's profile and approved the request. This curated approach was designed to simplify the booking process for both parties, ensuring guests only saw options that were confirmed to be available for that specific night. Revenue was likely generated through service fees charged on each transaction, a common model in the platform economy.

The company's journey included securing a significant seed funding round of $2.5 million in February 2016, co-led by Accomplice and CrossCut Ventures. This capital was intended to fuel its official launch beyond the beta phase, starting in Los Angeles with plans for expansion to other cities like Austin. At the time of funding, the platform had hundreds of hosts in the Los Angeles area. Despite its initial funding and differentiated market approach, Overnight ceased operations, with its status listed as "Out of Business" as of October 2018.

Keywords: same-day accommodation, last-minute booking app, peer-to-peer lodging, on-demand travel, Asher Hunt, mobile booking platform, spontaneous travel, local hosts, travel tech, short-term rentals, accommodation sharing, venture-backed, CrossCut Ventures, Accomplice, Los Angeles startup, hospitality app, instant booking, travel marketplace, P2P accommodation, flexible lodging, room sharing app