9flats, the Berlin-based apartment rental platform, is banking that its attention to security issues and customer service will help it gain traction in Asia, a market that is still new to the idea of short-term lets.

The company, which managed to raise up to US$10 million of funding by last August, set up a Singapore-based office late last year to expand local content and acquire new users in the region. 9flats launched in February 2011 and currently lists over 20,000 private accommodation in 50 countries, ranging from a place on a couch for €15 a night to a luxury apartment for €500.

Ng Wei Leen, vice president for Asia, said, "Asia is the second most important continent for us so far, just after Europe. I'm proud to say that we established an office in Asia before any of our competitors did.

"I think that it is a strong statement of intent from us. We are extremely keen to experiment more with the audience in Asia to discover where are the cities that are most amenable to try a new travel experience."

Fronted by former-Qype and Lastminute.com executive Stephan Uhrenhacker, it also became the first provider to offer its hosts worldwide protection for their properties last August.

Said Uhrenbacher, at the time of signing the Worldwide Host Protection Plan, "We go to great lengths to ensure that both our hosts and guests have the best experience possible when travelling with 9flats.com. Anyone who rents out their own home with our service now has further peace of mind that their property is protected."

The company expects that claims will be rare - in the six months since 9flats.com was founded, there have been no claims over €100 - claims which, until now, 9flats.com has paid out as a gesture of goodwill, said the company.

Said Ng, "We have the best protection of any company in this business, in any part of the world. Period. Our competitors are at least an order of magnitude behind us. Our policy with Zurich insurance has worldwide coverage, and we were helping stranded guests find solutions before anybody ever started thinking about the security aspects of this mode of traveling."

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