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Saskatoon tech company MyKey offers alternative for travel rentals

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Saskatoon tech company MyKey offers alternative for travel rentals
WATCH: A new company is connecting business travelers with accommodations around the world. Mykey is a "made-in-Saskatoon" solution for a global challenge – Feb 6, 2017

The recently launched, Saskatoon-based website MyKey is offering a new way for travellers to book their stays around the world.

The company delivers online booking for corporate housing in 24 countries and hotels in 170 countries. It compiles both options from a variety of providers on its website.

Corporate housing refers to furnished homes rented out for people living away from home temporarily.

READ MORE: U.K. online food delivery company buying SkipTheDishes for $110M

“They can get enough information, they can compare options, they can share it with people and make decisions rather quickly,” said Gordon Doell, president of Masterkey Alliance, the company behind MyKey.

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The website’s compiling process is similar to Trivago, though the latter only offers hotels. Airbnb allows people to rent their own homes online, but Doell said MyKey offers quality assurance.

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“Unlike the sharing economy, our supply chain is best-in-class, registered, serviced [and] managed operators,” Doell said.

The website launched last week, joining a field of Saskatoon tech businesses that have garnered attention since the $110 million purchase of SkipTheDishes, which was founded in Saskatoon.

“Hardware and software are much more reasonably priced than they were 20 or 30 years ago,” Eric Neufeld, a computer science professor with the University of Saskatchewan, said.

“I think it’s an opportunity for the province to diversify a little bit.”

READ MORE: Saskatoon clean tech company seeing growth despite national numbers

However, some entrepreneurs want change to the tech climate in Saskatchewan.

“Saskatchewan-based tech startups are trying really hard to stay in Saskatchewan, but it’s a challenge without the proper infrastructure,” Coconut Calendar CEO Katherine Regnier said in a news release.

Regnier and two San Francisco investors will hold a presentation in Saskatoon, focusing on ways to improve the province’s technology field.

“Investors will tell you to move your business because we just don’t have the resources in Saskatchewan,” Regnier said.

‘Flip the Switch: Igniting Saskatchewan’s Tech Landscape’ will be held at Lucky Bastard Distillers on Feb. 24.

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