The Roomlala story

Roomlala was the brainchild of a young entrepreneur who wanted to help young people find housing more easily in big cities. Philippe Roualle experienced firsthand the long lines at apartment viewings, the disappointment of seeing tiny 100-square-foot rooms on the sixth floor with no elevator, and the exorbitant rents in major cities. When he hosted a family friend who had come to Paris for a two-month internship, he realized there were likely many families with children who had moved out, leaving behind empty bedrooms. An untapped pool of housing that would be a dream come true for many students!

So, what is Roomlala?

In 2009, Philippe joined the growing family of the collaborative economy and launched Roomlala (then known as Chambrealouer.com): a platform for connecting hosts and tenants for homestay rentals. It is not a real estate agency, as individuals make rental agreements directly with one another. It is very simple, and everything happens online: the host posts a listing describing their home and the available room. For their part, the tenant searches for available housing in their chosen city and gets in touch with hosts whose listings interest them. Everyone wins: in addition to the friendly atmosphere, the host earns extra income, and the tenant pays much lower rent than they would for a studio or an apartment.

The site has already facilitated 3.2 million connections through 42,000 room rental listings across roughly forty countries. Today, Roomlala's strength lies in its community of over 1.8 million members. They have all embraced the concept and are contributing to the growth of homestay rentals around the world!

Want to learn more about Roomlala? Feel free to check out our press page by clicking here.
And if the startup adventure catches your eye, you'll surely be interested in our recruitment page.