members kindred

• Some have compared the new home-swapping app Kindred to Raya, the exclusive members-only dating app.
• With homes that are largely luxurious, the average length of a Kindred stay is six days.
• Members do not exchange money, but pay an annual fee as well as cleaning costs, and there is a waiting list.

Those with an eye on real estate and tech savvy websites might have read a bit about Kindred, a new and very exclusive home-swapping app.

Home-swapping, defined as trading homes with another person a lá Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz in “The Holiday,” is only a few decades older than the internet. But, until recently, it was relatively low-tech, facilitated by dedicated groups, Craigslist, or sites like HomeExchange.com.

Kindred gives home-swapping the (fancy) app treatment. Like competitor Behomm (and similar to Raya, the exclusive dating app), it is a members-only club; the easiest way to join is by invite from another member. And Kindred has a waitlist that it pulls from to build its housing inventory in locations popular with its members. 

Kindred also takes a more active approach than Behomm, which is invitation only but is focused on creative and design-oriented people. Kindred serves as a type of matchmaker and pairs members based on what they have in common, like mutual friends, pets or alma mater.

Kindred

Kindred

Kindred

“We also help people find others who have similar interests or jobs, so designers or founders, or a popular one is actually people with dogs who want to swap homes with other dog-friendly homes,” Kindred co-Founder Justine