Darent

Riyadh-based vacation-rental platform for apartments, villas, chalets and tents across Saudi Arabia; closed an undisclosed seed round led by Al Tawuniya in 2024.

Industry: Vacation rentals / PropTech | Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 2021 | Total Funding: US$1 million pre-seed plus undisclosed seed

About Darent

Darent is a Saudi short-term and monthly rental platform where guests book apartments, villas, chalets and desert tents, and hosts list their properties. It is headquartered in Riyadh and offers stays in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, AlUla, Al-Khobar, Abha and other destinations. A mobile app for iOS and Android supports booking, saved favourites and app-only offers, and the site lists Tabby among its payment options.

The company's name combines the Arabic word dar (home) with the English word rent. According to its own account, the founders began as hosts who opened their homes to travellers, then built a platform to match hosts and guests more efficiently. It says it won first place in the Tourism Pioneers Camp, placed among the top teams in an MIT accelerator programme, and was among the first companies licensed by the Ministry of Tourism to operate shared housing; the site displays a Ministry of Tourism licence number. Dr. Hanin Alsubaie is chief executive and, according to press reports, founded the company in 2021.

Funding: Wamda reported in March 2022 that Darent raised a US$1 million pre-seed round led by Watheeq Proptech Venture. In September 2024 it closed a seed round, amount undisclosed, led by Al Tawuniya Insurance with Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab and BIM Ventures also participating. Fahad Bin Maamer, Al Tawuniya's chief investment officer, was quoted in the announcement. The company said the money would go to technology, including AI to analyse market data and give personalised recommendations, platform upgrades and marketing.

Darent says its listings are verified and compliant with Saudi rules, with Arabic and English support and flexible stays from short breaks to monthly rentals. No round after September 2024 appeared in the public record reviewed.

Leadership