Homy promises to take care of your home when you’re away
A new Israeli company wants to take care of your empty apartment.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFOranit Tal, founder and CEO of Homy(photo credit: Courtesy)
You would like to think that you take care of Israel, but who takes care of the piece of Israel that is actually yours? You’re an American, Canadian, Brit, Australian or French citizen, and you own an apartment in Israel, in one of Tel Aviv’s new luxury condos, in Herzliya’s or Netanya’s beachfronts or in Jerusalem. But the apartment is either empty for half the time or rented out for short periods of time.Sometimes you hire a real-estate agent, a manager or a maintenance company that promises to take care of your property, but not everything. Sometimes you just assume that the building’s management is looking after your apartment. But when you’re not there, very often they are not either.So now, a new Israeli company, Homy, will put at ease all your concerns and take care of you when you’re not in the country, but your apartment is.You know the feeling. You’re in a professional conference in Hong Kong or series of meetings in New York or San Francisco and your WhatsApp beeps: Mrs. Cohen from the 9th floor or Ya’acov from the building’s management just wanted to let you know that your air conditioner is on and leaking. Then, the night before your flight you suddenly recall that the cable wasn’t working, the refrigerator is a desolate empty place, and you need to pick up two bottles of wine for a dinner party the evening you return.Now imagine that you have one address, one person, one go-to service that takes care of all your needs when you are abroad. In fact, it takes care of you before you leave. A one-stop shop that is your very personal concierge. Discreet, confidential, friendly, always available, always accessible and caters to all your needs, whatever they may be.That where Homy, Luxury Apartments Concierge, comes in. Better yet, meet Oranit Tal, the founder and CEO of Homy.She started the business not based solely on market research, but based on her own experience.Necessity is the mother of invention, she says, smiling.Plato said it first, she admits, but she applies it to modern upscale, ever-traveling and globe-trotting business people.“I worked for years in lighting systems, marketing for major commercial projects,” she says.“My work required frequent trips abroad, and I would always think how great it would be if everything would be taken care of when I’m away and everything would be ready when I return.” That, essentially, is the whole idea, she emphasizes: zero worries and no hassle.To illustrate this, she says, go to Ben-Gurion Airport over several Sundays and you’ll see a recurring pattern: Hundreds of businessmen leave Israel on a five-day or 10-day business trip to either the US or Asia.Then, take a tour of Tel Aviv’s new posh Miami-style hi-rises, or the Tel Aviv upscale suburban sprawl, and you can see a corresponding pattern: dozens of apartments and dozens of homes left empty for a week, two weeks and possibly more.Many of these apartments and homes are left literally empty, Oranit says, adding: “Not to mention those who have homes abroad and leave for extended periods of time. For them, we provide the highest quality and hands-on solutions. Who takes care of those apartments? Who tends to problems? Who cleans, repairs and replenishes the home?” Ask one of those businessmen or businesswomen, she says, and they have a ready answer for you: I have a travel agent, I have a house maid, I have a handyman, I have an expert AC guy, I love my TV technician, I have the best building management company, my daughter restocks the refrigerator.Not really, Oranit says. True, everyone has “their people” and everyone knows who to call. But, she adds, you don’t need to, and you don’t really want to.There is another target group, Oranit says: the many companies in Israel that host foreign visitors for extended periods of time. They need a hotel or an apartment, a caretaker, flight or restaurant arrangements, tour guides, medical assistance. Usually, she says, a secretary at the company takes care of details.But that’s not nearly enough.“We will take care of everything, A-Z,” Oranit says. “Your AC system, food, flight arrangements, cleaning and plumbing. We will be your home when your are away from your home.”
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