By Women, For Women… Only: Maltese-American Launches Exclusive Vacation Platform To Address Travel Safety
A new, Texas-based, invite-only vacation rental platform launched a few weeks ago with the aim of addressing women’s safety in travel… and it has much more in common with Malta than a few home listings.
Golightly’s story actually started in Malta, when the company’s founder and CEO Victoria O’Connell rented out her first vacation home in Mellieħa.
“Malta is really where I feel most at home in the world,” O’Connell told Lovin Malta. “I have an absolutely amazing family there, more than half of my family are Maltese, and they have always been supportive of me.”
Golightly Founder & CEO, Victoria O'Connell
All vacation properties are owned or managed by women, and those renting must be women too, but men can also travel with them.
And ever since its launch on January 22nd, Golightly has been a massive hit.
The rental platform launched with hundreds of high-quality properties in destinations around the world, including the company’s home city Austin, as well as London, Dubai, Miami, Italy and of course, Malta.
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“The love the Maltese people have within makes it an easy place to recharge my batteries and gain strength,” O’Connell said of her ties to the tiny island. ” The exquisite fireworks, the local street food (nothing beats a pastizz!) and jumping into the fresh Mediterranean are all part of my fondest childhood memories.”
And there are some stunning Maltese properties on the site already…
Though Malta may have been ground zero for the Golightly concept, it was a horrible experience renting her vacation home in London that led O’Connell to create this safe travel community for women.
“I felt that I would never be comfortable renting out my home again, and I wanted to figure out a way to change that and feel safe again,” she said. “I travel frequently and also stay in vacation rentals often, so I had to find a way to get back to it.”
Golightly offers women an extra layer of security through its private club, where everyone is connected to one another. Every member of Golightly is given five invites to send to other women, which enables users to see how they are connected to other members. In addition, all potential members are vetted and listings are verified before going live.
Even if you don’t have an invite, you can still become part of the club through their standard vetting process on their website.
Golightly’s headquarters may be Texas-based… but the company’s heart lies very much in Malta.
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