Belgian traveltech start-up helps travelers split rooms, apartments and villas
SplitStay, a Belgian traveltech start-up supported by the Start it @KBC accelerator, is launching a platform that allows travelers to split accommodation with compatible guests during trips abroad.
From festivals and sports tournaments to trade fairs and international conferences, SplitStay makes it possible to safely share a hotel room, apartment or villa, cutting costs, reducing waste and creating new social connections at a time of surging prices and changing travel behavior.
“We’re used to sharing car rides, but sharing where we sleep is still largely untapped. Yet the principle is simple” says founder Ruben Vanhees, a Belgian-born globetrotter who has visited over 100 countries and hosted numerous travelers through Couchsurfing.
The spark for SplitStay came when a last-minute Couchsurfing cancellation left him alone in an oversized hotel room with two beds, and the feeling that half of that space was going to waste.
Rising prices, new expectations
“Accommodation has quietly become one of the biggest barriers to attending live events,” says Vanhees. Around global spectacles like the Olympic Games or a Taylor Swift tour, nightly rates can jump to many times the usual price – we’ve seen increases up to 1,000%. For many people, that’s simply out of reach.”
“At the same time, how we travel, and why, is changing,” says Vanhees. “More and more people want to keep their carbon footprint down, spend their budget on the experience itself, and connect with others instead of sitting alone in a room they barely use.”
By matching people who are heading to the same place at the same time, and helping them share existing accommodation, SplitStay brings those shifts together.
“For me, SplitStay enhances choice, control, and safety for travelers who wish to share existing accommodation. By enabling guests to easily connect with compatible co-travelers heading to the same destination on similar dates, the platform facilitates a more social, efficient, and responsible approach to travel.”
A smart layer on top of existing booking platforms
SplitStay is designed for a broad mix of users: solo travelers, conference visitors, festival and sports fans, as well as digital nomads who regularly travel for work. Users create a profile, list their upcoming trips and indicate their preferences. Using AI, the platform suggests potential co-guests based on destination, dates and shared characteristics, such as age range, language or interests, so they can choose who they feel comfortable sharing with.
Rather than trying to replace established players, SplitStay positions itself as an extra layer on top of existing booking options. “Guests still book their room, apartment or villa via the usual channels, whether that’s Booking, Airbnb or directly with a hotel,” explains Vanhees. “We help them find the right person to share that space and split the cost. In return, SplitStay takes a small fee on the overall booking.”
Early pilots within the MICE space
The next step for SplitStay is to attract a critical mass of users. To accelerate that growth, the start-up is focusing on the events industry and the MICE segment (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), including B2B partnerships with large event organizers, ticketing platforms and event management solution providers. Europe is the first target region, thanks to its generally favorable attitude toward sharing-economy concepts (e.g BlaBlaCar), with other markets to follow.
For MICE professionals and attendees, the platform also opens up new networking opportunities. “Some of the most valuable conversations at events don’t happen in the conference hall, but at breakfast or late at night back at the accommodation,” says Vanhees. He saw this firsthand during a pilot at the Travel Massive conference in Vietnam, where he was invited to present SplitStay. “We shared a villa with other participants. Living together for a few days created a small community, and the feedback from everyone involved was overwhelmingly positive.”
Early recognition from the travel industry
Despite being at an early stage, SplitStay has already caught the eye of international travel media, with recent coverage in outlets such as Phocuswire, BizBash, TSNN, Medium and Breaking Travel News. In 2025, the company was also selected for two accelerator programs: eWorks at Esade Business School in Barcelona and Start it @KBC in Belgium.
