How to Create a Website Like Airbnb and How Much Does it Cost
Airbnb has changed the way people search for accommodations worldwide. This online room rental has conquered a global market for apartment rentals, though this does not mean that Airbnb-like services cannot cut at least a small piece of this pie in the frames of a local business. How do you make a website or app for renting apartments?
Apartment rental costs are quite high, which is why many travelers look for cheap offers to spend as little money as possible on accommodation.
In October 2023, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, New York, amounts to $4,350. This represents a 6% rise when compared to the preceding year.
Entrepreneurs have realized that they can profit from creating services like Airbnb even without owning real estate assets.
Booking services like Airbnb:
However, such services can have some issues with functioning in particular countries. On February 6, 2017, the Singapore parliament passed a law prohibiting short-term rental. If a property owner does not have special permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, he or she cannot rent out rooms or apartments for less than six months.
Therefore, entrepreneurs must consider such nuances before developing a room rental app or website. Furthermore, an apartment rental service must enhance the functionality of ordinary classified ad sites to become successful.
Learn about Other successful online marketplaces.
How Websites and Apps Like Airbnb Differ from Other Apartment Rental Solutions
Classified ad websites are the common alternatives for Airbnb-like solutions. They are online platforms where property owners post their offers for a specific fee or even for free. Customers visit such sites and choose a needed category: a car sale, apartment rent, services, etc. Then, they find an advertiser’s email or phone number and contact that person. Classified ad websites contain many different categories and are actually multi-purpose platforms. Services like Airbnb have another working principle and business model.
P2P Marketplace
An apartment rental app or website is a peer-to-peer online marketplace focused solely on a specific type of service. It connects property owners (mostly individuals) who rent out their real estate with customers who need to find accommodation for a specific term. Similar marketplaces may focus on other types of services, such as car rental, appliance or tool rent, etc.
Geolocation
The main difference between classified ad sites like Craigslist and Airbnb is that they provide users with information, but Airbnb-like services help customers solve their problems. In the first case, users must find a convenient offer and only choose the second one. That is why geolocation is crucial in apartment rental apps or sites like Airbnb.
Customers often need to be physically near a place for rent. In another country, tourists can easily and quickly find accommodation that is geographically close to them. They have a problem: finding a cheap apartment within a few quarters as quickly as possible. Such marketplaces provide users with a solution by allowing them to find a place by location and showing a search result on a digital map.
Online Payments
Another difference and advantage of such marketplaces is that they allow making a payment online without leaving a reservation room app or website. This feature is convenient for renters and protects property owners by ensuring transaction security. Furthermore, online payments let a marketplace owner charge a service fee and build an effective business model.
Reviews
Classified ad sites are not responsible for a deal between customers and those who rent out belongings. Therefore, renters entrust their money to the person they know nothing about. On websites like Airbnb, customers can leave reviews about the property owner whose apartment they have rented. These reviews form a host profile and rating that will influence further deals. The higher the rating, the more customers trust this specific host.
Why It Is Important to Make a Room App for an Airbnb Like Service
Many business owners create a mobile application besides their existing main website (e.g., Facebook and Twitter). Others focus on a mobile app, and a website is a supplementary tool (e.g., Shazam, Uber, and Instagram). E-commerce business owners develop an app to increase sales. Why did Airbnb founders Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, and Nathan Blecharczyk design a room app for their service?
Personalization
The development team has made each user feel like the app is created specifically for him or her. Trips are the sweet memories that warm human hearts throughout the year till the next journey. That is why it is so important for rental apps for Android and iOS to provide users with the best experience through a personalized and intuitive UI.
Influencers
A smart linking strategy is one of the reasons why the app has become even more popular than the Airbnb.com site. When users realize the advantage of your app, they will associate their positive emotions with your solution. As a result, word of mouth is guaranteed. Users will gladly share their experience with others, which is why you will get two profits at the same time: user-generated content and free advertising.
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Website like Airbnb
In preparation for your platform development and launch of online room rental, we’ve put together an estimated cost for creating a peer-to-peer marketplace similar to Airbnb.
It’s important to note that the ultimate price of such a platform is greatly influenced by several factors:
- The specific features and functionality you desire for your rental marketplace platform.
- Your chosen development approach.
- The location, and consequently, the rates of your development company.
Considering all the discussed functionalities, the average cost of a rental housing website is $ 80,000.
In conclusion, it’s important to emphasize that the ultimate cost can vary, and only your chosen software development partner can provide a precise quote.
Nonetheless, you can rely on the provided figures if you’re seeking an estimate for creating a quality vacation rental website in collaboration with a development company in Eastern Europe.
Our Experience
Discovery Phase for a Real Estate App
Our venture into the US real estate market, focusing on the processes related to property rentals and sales, aimed to create a competitive platform that meets the diverse needs of end users seeking real estate for personal use and offers online communication capabilities for agents and their potential clients.
The initial phase of transitioning from a concept to a finalized product involved the discovery stage.
During our comprehensive exploration of the US real estate landscape, we unearthed a crucial detail: engaging in real estate activities necessitates the acquisition of licenses, which are region-specific. These licenses grant access to databases containing pertinent real estate information for a particular area.
Consequently, we decided to initiate our product’s minimum viable product (MVP) in the Miami market, where our client procured the necessary license. Our plan entails a gradual expansion to encompass the entire US market in subsequent releases.
Discovery Phase for a Real Estate Company
A client approached us with a multifaceted request that included developing a web dashboard for existing tenants, creating a real estate marketplace for potential clients and agents, and designing a mobile application that would enable existing tenants to request services and manage payments.
Our initial discussion with the client showed that our project would involve three primary roles: property owners or agents, existing clients (tenants), and potential clients (new visitors). We embarked on a research phase to comprehensively understand the unique requirements and processes associated with each of these roles.
FAQ About Building a Site Like Airbnb
What are the key features that a platform like Airbnb should have?
When you build a site like Airbnb, you should keep in mind the following core features: authorization for different roles (travelers, hosts, admins), profiles with personal data, property listing, search and filtering functionality, calendar with flexible dates, online maps and geolocation, messaging options, translation engine, booking system, cancellation options, notifications, online payments and gateways integration, reviews and feedback, and admin panel.
What marketing and growth strategies are effective for launching and scaling a platform like Airbnb?
To answer the question of how to make a site like Airbnb popular, you should split your marketing effort. You should promote your product, place, and website. So, you can advertise properties online and attract influencers to promote property objects, website services, and your application, if there are any. You can also make e-mail outreach and showcase your objects on social media.
To improve the positions and visibility of your platform, consider content marketing, SEO strategies, referral marketing, and paid search options. Do not underestimate the community. Create it for your brand, as the Airbnb website does. Consider offline promotions at local events or in local public places and communities.
Partner with event organizers and make special offers or event pricing. During the high season, you can sometimes benefit from underpricing. To name a few growth strategies, we suggest introducing upsells, offering extensions, varying prices as it’s best for your clients, offering incentives for group stays, making your properties pet-friendly, and so on.
What are the key revenue streams and monetization models for a business like Airbnb?
The key question is how to create a website like Airbnb and profit from it. The major revenue stream is surely charging fees from property owners for their rented objects and travelers. However, it’s not the only way to monetize the website. Airbnb offers programs that charge additional fees, like Airbnb Plus or Airbnb for Work, so consider creating some.
Cleaning and photo services can be offered to property owners at additional costs. You can make paid advertising and paid search available to your clients to promote their products on your site. The revenue from travel-related services and products can also become a source of additional income for a site owner. You can always extend your profits through new monetization channels. Just stay business-smart and follow the trends.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we discussed how to build a website like Airbnb. Creating apartment apps for Android and iOS is a must for accommodation rental services. These tools give users a greater UE and allow business owners to implement a more effective marketing strategy.
Our latest whitepaper analyzes the main areas to consider for innovations within the travel industry and aims to help you set the right investment priorities. Download our whitepaper “Travel Industry: Where to Invest” and make sure you can always expand and integrate your service, product, or solution later.
Originally published at https://stfalcon.com.
