Buying new backyard swimming pools was all the rage during the pandemic shutdown as people looked for at-home alternatives to the resort experience, writes Michelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

But now homeowners have discovered people are willing to pay money to rent their pools.

A mermaid synchronized swimming club almost rented Mel Stewart’s Newtown Square pool until they discovered it wasn’t deep enough for their tails.

“Which is a shame because that sounded really cool,” Stewart said.

Stewart and her husband, Gary, rent their pool and hot tub on Swimply, a pool rental platform.

Homeowners with pools don’t use them every day and maintenance can be expensive.

At the same time, there’s a shortage of public pool availability this year and many are still worried about large crowds.

The Stewarts were already offering their backyard to friends, family, and co-workers during the shut-down so they decided to explore the rental possibilities.

Bookings took off after Memorial Day.

“We do have a very nice pool,” Stewart, 48, said. “We’re very lucky in life, and it’s kind of one of those things where we wanted to share our good fortune with others.”

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about renting private pools.

This newscast talks about how the website Swimply works.

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