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For leisure getaways or professional trips, people travel a lot worldwide. This gives immense opportunities to entrepreneurs to venture into vocational rental. A prime example is Airbnb which has a market capture of more than US $70 billion all over the globe. The popularity of apps like Airbnb has been soaring. It’s essential to know how the business functions and how an app can make wonders for your business.
Everyone loves to explore new places. We always look for an excuse to escape from our routine lives and travel to adventurous and unexplored destinations for some rejuvenating experiences. Travelling creates some beautiful memories that we can cherish for a lifetime. And, when the world is our oyster, we have so much to explore, isn’t it?
We believe that the ever-booming travel industry is proof of our passion for travelling. Here are some facts and figures that confirm our belief.
Talking about vacations… What is the first thing that crosses our mind when we think about traveling? Yes, you’ve guessed it right! It definitely has to be quality lodging and boarding facilities at reasonable prices. We all know that unkempt Inns and lousy food are capable enough to ruin our trip. That’s where travel app development solution enable booking the best hotel or renting accommodation that not only serve quality food but also offers a good package deal.
Airbnb is one of the most promising online booking portals where you can find the best deal for rentals that too within your preferred budget. It is a benchmark of superior deals in the travel industry and is known for its excellent customer service.
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Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service provider, offers vacation rentals and other travel experiences. It was founded in 2008 and has become one of the renowned companies in the hospitality sector. An interesting fact about Airbnb is that it does not own any hotels or inns or other properties. It merely functions as a mediator and earns commissions per booking.
When you visit the Airbnb website or app, you can find a list of vacation rentals. You can choose as per your preferences, budget, and convenience. It has 150 million users across the globe as per Airbnb Key Statistics 2022, with its presence in 100,000 cities, 167 countries and 4+ million hosts. Moreover, the website and app both, allow its users to chat with the hosts to discuss the accommodation details.
Airbnb provides an equal opportunity for hosts who want to rent their property or space and for the users who are looking for affordable vacation rentals apart from hotels. In a very short span, Airbnb has captured the world market with its seamless, innovative and feasible services.
Airbnb app works for two types of audiences- a service provider that acts as a host and users that act as a guest. Therefore, the functionalities are completely different for both types of users of the app. here’s the overview of Airbnb work for guests and hosts.
There are many business model ideas for startups to start their own business. In case, if you are planning on investing your hard-earned money to build a service app similar to Airbnb, you need to understand airbnb business model first. It will help you to get a better insight into how it functions.
The business model of Airbnb is quite simple. There are hosts in every city with available properties. If they want to lend out their properties for a short period, they can list it on the Airbnb portal. They can add details about the ownership, rentals, timings for check-in and checkout and other such information.
Users who are looking for accommodation can visit the Airbnb portal and search rentals. They can choose from the available options according to their preferences. They can even chat with the hosts to know specific details about the properties.
Airbnb’s business model solely works on sharing economy, where it functions as a mediator that creates a platform for both – service providers and service seekers.
There are various reasons why people prefer Airbnb over other portals. Affordability and popularity being the significant factors, it urges most tourist to opt for Airbnb as compared to other travel portals. Users think of it as a wise option, as it not only helps them save on rentals, but it also allows them to spend on other relevant local and cultural activities. Airbnb offers the best fares in the market that are far less as compared to hotel rooms.
Majority of the properties listed on Airbnb are villas, castles, and apartments. These properties are ideal for people who travel in groups. Families would prefer to rent a home rather than a hotel as the former gives a personal touch. Such sharing accommodation helps cut down the expenses.
Apart from these accommodations Airbnb also lists hotel rooms, hostels and even a bed for rent. Further, the option to rent just one room or some extra space is apt for solo travellers as well as the host who does not wish to rent their entire property.
Airbnb also provides a feature wherein the users can chat with the hosts. The users can inquire for any particular details about the rented property including additional fees, amenities, timings, and other facilities. This feature not only helps the user but also allows the host to know their guests better.
Also Read: How are Mobile Apps modernising Restaurant space?
As they say- success has many fathers, post the successful launch of Airbnb, many other businesses have entered the market to grab the share. Some of the Alternatives of Airbnb are listed below:
The number one competitor of Airbnb is ‘HomeAway’. With its presence in 190 countries, it has more than a million rooms listed across the globe. A striking difference between Airbnb and HomeAway is that the latter only offers rentals of entire properties, unlike Airbnb. Rest of the services is pretty much similar.
Unlike Airbnb, FilpKey does not offer shared rooms. However, it facilitates some attractive search filters like dog-friendly and kid-friendly options. With its presence in more than 160 countries, the USP of FlipKey is that it’s owned by TripAdvisor and provides a quality manual verification program for the users to help them verify rentals.
More than 300,000 rental properties and with a presence in more than 100 countries, Wimbdu, is amongst the leading European portal for renting city apartments. However, apart from renting apartments, they also rent out holiday homes, chalets, farmhouses and houses just like Airbnb.
Planning to build another app like airbnb? Just in case if you don’t prefer to build an app that directly competes with Airbnb then, creating an MVP model is the first step. Experts suggest going local first and gradually spreading your wings. You can create an MVP model with basic features first.
Indeed, you would want to know the revenue model of Airbnb as it is the top most priority of any business. Airbnb does not charge from hosts for listing their properties. However, when a user books the room using the portal, that’s when Airbnb earns. Curious! Want to know how?
When a user books a room through the platform, Airbnb directly gets 10% flat commission from hosts.
For every booking done on the Airbnb platform, users pay 3% of the booking amount as transaction charges.
Think of something that no other travel app like- airbnb portal offers. For example, FlipKey provides users with a quality manual verification program to help them verify rentals. This feature adds to the trust factor amongst users. There are many such travelling pain points you can identify and offer a solution to. Remember, creating a cloud copy of Airbnb will take you nowhere. Offer something unique and make a difference.
One of the striking features of Airbnb is its simplicity. Visit the Airbnb website or app, and you will notice a highly comprehensive yet straightforward and a user-friendly interface that offers an exceptional experience to the users. Users love ease and honesty. So, while designing the rental app like airbnb, do keep this in mind!
Try to develop an app that does not require a lot of space. No matter, which device the user might have, they’ll always face storage issues. Hence, a relatively small sized app will be appreciated.
Users find it intriguing when a high level of personalization is provided. For the listing page, you can create some unique filters that might seem to be useful for the users as we see in airbnb like app. FlipKey has equipped users with search options such as dog-friendly and kid-friendly properties. This add-on search option could be a deal breaker for many users!
Sign up/Sign in: Users can Sign Up/Sign in through the mobile app using their Email id/Phone number and password
Explore Homes: Users can view various rentals that are available for booking at a selected location along with details like amenities, breakfast, the number of guests that can be accommodated, price and its reviews, etc.
Explore Hotels: Listing of all the hotels along with their features and location preferences, space available for the users to stay, a menu for food (if provided) and the cost of the hotel that they plan to book.
Search & Filter: Listing of different homes & hotels for a selected location and filter the results using location filter, food category filter, and price filter, etc.
Save Search: The option to mark the hotels or homes as the favourite so that the users can review it later.
Inbox: For communicating with either the host or the hotelier regarding their booking confirmations or cancellations.
Payment: Review the final amount of booking a home or hotel through the application and opt to process the payment based on the option selected.
Rate & Review: For the users to share their feedback of the hotels & homes based on the experience of their stay
Cancel Reservation: Users can cancel their rental bookings directly through the mobile app
Sign up/Sign in: Hosts can Sign Up/Sign In to the mobile app using their Email id/Phone number and Password
List Property: Hosts can list their property simply by sharing details of the property, number of people it can accommodate, breakfast if provided, and the location of the property
Inbox: For communicating with the travellers regarding the property booking status or availability or any other requirements and enquiries in particular.
Calendar: Calendar will save information regarding the reservations made for a particular day/days of the listed property or hotel
Listings: Hosts can review their property listing or add new ones. They can also view, add or edit details about their property
Total earnings: View the total revenue of the host, earned through their property or hotels listed in the application
Dashboard: View various details regarding the entire property/hotel listed, total revenue generated by property and hotels
Cities management: Add/Edit new cities in the application where the users can add their property or hotels at a particular location
Manage Property Listings: Admin can add, delete or manage details regarding the properties that are listed
Manage Bookings: Admin can manage the booking, booked by the traveller, including the payment details
Payments: Payment management for the host of the property and the amount of the property booking after deduction of commission
Transaction History: View the transaction id, booking summary, booking id, transaction date and method of payment for a particular reservation
Booking History: View past bookings along with the time of booking and booking summary
Push Notification: Send push notification to the traveller or host regarding any system related news/offers
SMS Gateway: Integration of SMS API into the mobile application to send SMS notifications related to the bookings/promotional offers
Payment Gateway: Integration of payment API for the ease of payment for travellers
Email: Integration of email API which will allow the system to send automated email for booking confirmation to travellers
Analytics: 3rd Party Analytics API to get the analytics regarding the number of traveller registrations, booking confirmations and successful booking completions
Geo Location: Integration of API to get the geolocation of the travellers and the host who have listed their property/hotel
Know the best features to add to your eCommerce Mobile App.
Want to know- how to build an app like Airbnb? Travel app development like Airbnb is a successful venture that’s built in a step-by-step manner. Here are the vital steps to build the Airbnb app that you should follow.
The million-dollar app idea won’t make your dreams come true unless a well-thought business plan is created to shape the idea into a reality. With hundreds of travel apps out there on the app store, it’s essential to set the idea into motion with a high-level business plan that defines the business vision, goals to accomplish, and how your app ideas can create a distinctive niche in the market.
Airbnb business plan is a systematic approach to moving ahead in an organized manner and achieving goals. The first step is to create a business plan in an answer to the question of how to build a Travel app like Airbnb.
Most often, businesses think that building the app for two major platforms- iOS and Android or cross-platform helps them reach a wider range of audience. However, the attempt of reaching out to a massive user base by building apps natively for different platforms is an expensive and time-consuming affair.
When you move ahead with a cross-platform development approach, the quality is compromised and the user experience gets paralyzed. It’s better to launch the app first on one platform that the target audience uses the most, and then extend the app to other platforms after looking at the users’ feedback. Understand the merits and demerits of both platforms before publishing the app on any one platform.
Users are looking for an intuitive design that allows them to navigate through the app seamlessly. Before jumping straight on the UI/UX design, it’s better to create a wireframe or low-fidelity prototype that helps in creating a skeleton of the app that showcases how the user interacts with the app’s features and then their respective actions.
The businesses can get it on their own with a DIY approach to know the app flow and necessary changes required in the design. Thereafter, start coding to make your dream app unfold into reality. Also, you can consider the unique UX design strategy and a few tips to deliver a wow experience.
Initially, you cannot play catch up with Airbnb-like applications as it takes time to score popularity and seize an edge in the market. The best way is to start with MVP where build core features like- the Airbnb app along with USP that differentiates your app in the market.
The features and functionalities of the Airbnb app are built for three different interfaces- guest, host, and admin. In the latter part of the blog, they are explained in detail.
You cannot ignore backend development as it’s the wishbone of your app that ensures everything works flawlessly. It handles all the behind-the-scene reality of the app such as data storage, data access and retrieval, API calls handling, and defining business rules. The businesses can opt for considering a backend-as-a-service provider or build a backend from scratch for the best results.
No app can succeed when it’s launched without app testing. Different types of app testing such as functional testing, UI/UX testing, usability testing, experience testing, and performance testing are conducted that ensures that the app performs to the notch and lives up to the customer’s expectations. The QA & testing is done to ensure the app runs without any bugs, crashes, or performance issues.
When everything is done, the app is launched in the market after it’s submitted by the developers to the app store. Planning for future upgrades with innovative features and other maintenance activities helps in keeping the users engaged in the app and stay relevant in the market.
How much does an app like Airbnb cost? As you have heard most of the time from reliable development companies- defining the exact development cost for Airbnb-like travel app development is impossible. Every app is unique, where different factors affect the overall cost of developing an app like Airbnb. Some of these factors are-
Usually, basic Airbnb-like app development with simple features and minimal design takes approximately around 4 months which would cost starts from $30000 to $50000. The app with advanced features and tech stack would vary based on the features and functionalities to be added as experienced developers and specialists need to be involved followed by an extended timeline, which ultimately extends the budget as well.
| Type/Size of application | Cost to develop the app | Time duration |
|---|---|---|
| Basic with general features limited to primary use. | US $30000 to US $50000 | 2-3 months |
| Mid-sized Airbnb-like app with moderate features and a bit of customization. | US $50000 to US $120000 | 3-6 months |
| A fully customized Airbnb-like app with full-fledged functionalities of all kinds | US $120000 to US $250000 | 9+ months |
Building the app for different platforms depends on several variables that influence development costs as well. The app development cost is accurately estimated considering the time taken by different companies to build the set of features in a mobile app followed by distinct hourly rates.
Travelling has never been more comfortable than it is today. Travelers have multiple options to choose from an array of hotels, modes of transport, and amenities. Travel companies make sure to come up with innovative ideas and value-added services to make the traveler’s journey easier and more comfortable. Building an online venture is a go-to choice to make your business future-proof as users love to do everything from the comfort of the sofa.
Get build a travel app like- Airbnb along with new facilities or functionalities that could be of value add. Also, make sure to keep in mind the two beneficiaries- Hosts and Travelers as they use the app differently. However, if you are unsure about how to move ahead with your app idea.
Get connected with a leading mobile app development company that helps you choose the right path and propel forward rightly. The Prismetrics team has helped tons of businesses looking to take their travel business digitally with unique mobile app development team. You can send your query for required consultation on Vacation Rental app Like Airbnb.
You will need a team of experts who can put effort to build a highly functional and feature-rich app. The team should consist of a project manager, UI/UX designer, developer, and quality control analyst. You can even Hire developers and outsource the project. The main advantage of hiring a developer is that they already have a full-fledged team of experts with the latest technology and resources. Outsourcing will help you save time on hiring new skills and also the cost of training the recruits. Additionally, once the project is over, you won’t have to worry about the additional staff. Not to forget, you also won’t face the risk of hiring underperforming staff as the outsourcing firm assures you of quality and experienced team of experts.
Also Read: Everything you need to know about Boat Rental Booking App
Travelling has never been more comfortable as it is today. Travellers have multiple options to choose from an array of hotels, mode of transports, and amenities. The travel companies make sure to come up with innovative ideas and value-added services to make the travellers’ journey easier and more comfortable. Make sure to think of some new facility or functionality that could be of value add, while building a travel app like Airbnb. Also, make sure to keep in mind the two beneficiaries- Hosts and Travelers. As you need to understand that by merely keeping their interests intact, you’ve won half the battle!
Want to Create Your Own Custom Travel App?
The average cost of Airbnb clone app development ranges between $30,000-$50,000. It increases or decreases when you bring uniqueness to the app with innovative features or enhanced design.
It’s a step-by-step process that involves:
Airbnb app allows guests to register and search for the property they are looking for a specific location and date on the map or by applying filters. The guest can send requests for the same and when accepted by the host, the payments are made after booking confirmation.
He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Prismetric . An enthusiastic entrepreneur, interested to discuss new app ideas, rich gadget tricks and trends, and admires signature tech business styles to readily embrace. He enjoys learning most modern app crafting methods, exploring smart technologies and passionate about writing his thoughts too. Inventions related to mobile and software technology inspire Ashish and he likes to inspire the like-minded community through the finesse of his work.
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