Your furry friends can now earn you Frequent Flyer points
Qantas has partnered up with pet-sitting start-up Mad Paws, and yes, this means your furry little life partners can now earn you frequent flyer points!
They’re also among a swarm of other doggo friendly investors, including Airtasker’s Tim Fung, who have pumped $5 million dollars into a funding round for the start-up.
Launched 2014 by Alexis Soulopoulos, Jan Pacas, Rolf Weber, Justus Hammer and Bjorn Behrendt, Mad Paws has been described as an ‘Airbnb for pets’, where pet owners across Australia can book a local, vetted and insured pet sitter from 15,000 approved sitters and dog walkers.
Soulopoulos, the CEO and Co-Founder of Mad Paws, said he got the idea for the start-up when he was at the University of Sydney and created a platform that allowed students to share pets with students who needed pet sitters.
Now, three years on, Mad Paws has grown its database to 15,000 approved sitters and dog walkers and 300,000 pets across Australia.
Qantas Group Executive Strategy, Innovation and Technology Rob Marcolina, said Mad Paws was a good fit for investment.
“Nearly two-thirds of Qantas customers are pet owners and how they care for their pets when they’re away is important, so it’s a key part of their travel experience with us,” he said.
“Mad Paws is already growing strongly and we’re excited to see what new opportunities this partnership and investment will bring for the business and their customers.”
Their new partnership with Qantas means Qantas Frequent Flyer members can now earn points through every booking including overnight pet hosting (away from home) and pet sitting (at pet’s home) as well as dog walking, pet daycare and house visits.
“Ever since we started in we always mapped the best possible partners for Mad Paws and at the top of the list was Qantas because if people travel the assumption is they need someone to look after their pets,” Soulopoulos told Fairfax media.
Or, you could just contact the Travel Weekly office and we’ll come cuddle your furry little mates for free.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
investment mad paws partnership qantas start-upLatest News
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