Putting the luxury into Airbnb

No request is too difficult for Alex Ormerod.

"Crazy requests are what we do," says the co-founder of luxury property rental company Luxico. "We've had to change furniture because they don't like a particular colour, they want a particular mattress, need a piano or want a portable jacuzzi spa. Do you know how hard it is to book a portable jacuzzi spa?"

Luxico operates at the luxury end of the tourism industry, renting out properties on a short-term basis, with prices averaging $640 a night in Melbourne and $1000 a night in Sydney.

The business that turned over $5.3 million and grew by 45 per cent last year is tapping into a growing demand for a more luxurious alternative to internet giant Airbnb.

Born out of necessity

Ormerod founded Luxico in 2013 with her husband Thomas Ormerod.

"It was born out of necessity for us. My husband Tom and I took a sea change down to the Mornington Peninsula and rented out our house in Melbourne and an investment property," she says. "We realised there was a problem on both sides of the transaction. There was a genuine demand for high quality accommodation and there wasn't a lot of accommodation that was a better standard than a serviced apartment. We quickly started taking on our neighbours' residences in Melbourne and all of a sudden we found ourselves with a business." Read more