A little over a week since TechCrunch
first reported Milwaukee-based short-term rental startup
Frontdesk laid off its entire workforce, the company’s chief executive has officially confirmed the news.
“Last week, Frontdesk made the difficult decision to shut down our short-term rental management business. Despite valiant efforts from the entire team, the market headwinds were simply too strong to make the model work profitably at scale,” said
Jesse DePinto, co-founder and CEO of Frontdesk, in a LinkedIn post.
TechCrunch reported the layoffs came after Frontdesk failed to raise additional capital.
“Right now, there are over 100 insanely talented Frontdeskians who are suddenly on the market looking for their next role,” reads DePinto's post. “Revenue managers, engineers, housekeepers, maintenance, housekeeping supervisors, guest experience specialists, trust and safety specialists, OTA distribution experts, and the list goes on.”
Depinto said hiring managers and recruiters looking for talent can contact him directly for a directory listing former Frontdesk employees. DePinto has not responded to requests for comment from BizTimes.
Founded in 2017, Frontdesk became one the fastest growing companies in the country, ranking on the Inc. 5000 list in 2021 and 2022. DePinto was named CEO
in 2022 after the company's founding chief executive,
Kyle Weatherly, decided to step down from his role but become Frontdesk's board director.
The tech-enabled startup leased apartments in upscale neighborhoods and then sublet them to guests. The startup’s target market was short-term business and personal travelers.
In June, Frontdesk acquired Chicago-based Zencity a competing short-term rental operator. The company had raised more than $25 million in funding since its founding.
