Most pools close after Labor Day weekend, but there are plenty of options around the area if you need a place to swim.
Four years ago during the pandemic, Leyla Ghorbani started listing her backyard pool in Potomac, Maryland, on a website called Swimply. The site lets you search for private pools near you, and then rent them by the hour.
“I found that families were really excited to be able to have the privacy of an outdoor space they could enjoy, without the worries of potentially catching COVID,” she said.
Since then, she’s had some very memorable guests.
“I’ve had a dating show for the OWN Network filmed here. That was really entertaining to watch,” she said. “I have hosted a first birthday for a dog, and that was quite elaborate.”
The listing on Swimply is called “The Modern Meadow House,” and it has a 5-star rating with almost 200 reviews. Since May, almost every weekend at her pool has been booked. Because Ghorbani has a heater, she can keep her pool open through October.
“Sometimes, even Halloween is very warm and muggy,” she said. “The benefit is that I can be flexible, since it’s my own pool, in terms of opening and closing.”
The price for her pool starts at $95 an hour for a group of five. Ghorbani has a full-time job in information technology as a program manager, and the extra money helps cover the maintenance and management of the pool and backyard.
“It is a nice additional source of income on the side for life’s incidentals and surprises,” she said.
Ghorbani said the best part of renting out her pool is meeting new people. She has dozens of repeat customers, and some have become close friends. She loves hosting hallmark occasions: everything from birthdays to bridal showers, photo shoots, graduations or anniversaries.
“There have been some guests that have insisted I joined them. And I’m like, ‘No, no, this is your party. Thank you,'” she said. “It’s honestly wonderful, and I find it gratifying. I’ll keep doing it for as long as I feel like people are happy and having a positive experience.”
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