Proof of Usefulness Report

Placemakr

Analysis completed on 1/27/2026

+724
Proof of Usefulness Score
Category Standard

Placemakr (formerly WhyHotel) is a high-traction, venture-backed hospitality startup that has raised over $350M and manages $1B+ in real estate assets. The project solves a genuine problem in the flexible living/hospitality market with a verified product-market fit (1M+ room nights). However, the submission itself was of extremely low quality, containing lazy, false filler text (e.g., 'most people have used my product', 'marketcap: null') which significantly impacted the Traction and Response Quality scores despite the company's actual unicorn-level status.

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Score Breakdown

Real World Utility+27.6
Audience Reach Impact+17.0
Technical Innovation+10.1
Evidence Of Traction+14.7
Market Timing Relevance+9.0
Functional Completeness+0.3
Subtotal+787
Usefulness Multiplierx0.92
Final Score+724

Project Details

Project URL
Description
Placemakr is a venture-backed startup on a mission to change the future of hospitality and home. With properties in three cities (and many more coming!) we operate a platform that allows buildings to blur the line between hotels and apartments. Our platform is an all-in-one solution which includes property operations, customer acquisitions, and the tech stack to operate with more flexibility than any other company in the market. Our tech-enabled buildings create a one-of-a-kind guest experience and tremendous value in the underlying real estate. Whether a guest or resident is with us for three days or three years, these are more than just spaces to spend the night—they are a place to call home.\n\nOur property team members focus on bringing our business to life at each of our buildings with a focus on execution, and resident and guest experience. Our non-property team members focus on supporting property execution and the evolution of the other areas of the platform. The non-property roles are remote-first with the option to work out of our DC or SF offices. We think in-person collaboration and bonding is extremely important, so our remote-first team members participate in quarterly in-person retreats with their teams at various locations across the U.S.

Algorithm Insights

Market Position
Strong market validation with clear user adoption patterns
User Engagement
Documented reach suggests active user community
Technical Stack
Modern tech stack aligned with sponsor technologies

Recommendations to Increase Usefulness Score

Document User Growth

Provide specific metrics on user acquisition and retention rates

Showcase Revenue Model

Detail sustainable monetization strategy and current revenue streams

Expand Evidence Base

Include testimonials, case studies, and third-party validation

Technical Roadmap

Share development milestones and feature completion timeline