How to Build an App like Airbnb? — Deciding on Features, Timeline & Cost

Whenever people travel to other parts of the country or world the one thing most of them regret is less experience with local people. In this world of globalization, whenever you stay at hotels around the world you won't feel much different than your home country. This is where Airbnb bridges the gap between a traveller and the local experience.

Airbnb provides a platform to tourists across the world to live at places made by locals and in most cases with locals. It also provides an opportunity for the local population for earning an extra or full-time income by renting their house to tourists and interacting with them.

Now lets us discuss in detail how to build an app like Airbnb - its features, development timeline, and the cost of development.

How does Airbnb work?

If you have ever booked a stay with Airbnb as a user or if you have ever been the host you might be aware that there are basically 2 panels required to complete a successful transaction.

1. User App / Website
2. Host or Landlords App / Website

How does a user book a stay with Airbnb?

• Downloads the app and registers
• Fill in the location to check out places to stay
• Filter by price, nearby location, stay area, ratings, etc.
• Checkout multiple places and select one
• Press book and select the desired date and approx time of arrival
• Choose to pay online or cash on arrival
• Arrive at the stay and enjoy the vacation

How does a host accept the stay with Airbnb?

• Registers account and property
• Gets approval for the property
• Once a user confirms the stay the host is notified
• The host has the option to accept the stay or reject the stay based on the availability
• On accepting the host gets the booking amount in a bank account
• The user arrives on the date and the host needs to update within the app
• On successful check out the host receives the full payment either online
• The host expects future bookings

For example, take Prohoff (Image Above) - Similar to Airbnb, Prohoff is a space or accommodation booking app for travelers from local populations. The app offers luxurious stays for travelers and a great guest experience.

As with every business Airbnb offers its service for generating revenue so let us discuss in brief the revenue-generating model for Airbnb

How does Airbnb generate revenue?

There is no one or the right way to generate revenue from services that Airbnb provides but the model followed by Airbnb can be read further.

Revenue from Guest Booking fee

A user needs to pay a certain percentage or fixed pay to avail of the services that Airbnb offers. Generally, a user is charged the booking fee whenever they try to book a stay with Airbnb hosts and not independently.

Revenue from Hosts

Generally, the revenue generated from the host in commission is on the higher side than the booking fee mentioned above. Generally, the approximate earning from each stay is in the range of 10%-20% of the total earning generated from the stay.

Another Probable Revenue Generation Model

Advertisements for newly listed properties - One of the big revenue-generating models that apps like Airbnb can target is to showcase advertisements on listing pages whose property owners want their property to showcase on top of the search at an extra cost.

The property owners can opt-in if they want to showcase their ads and Airbnb can charge extra commission on successful bookings or charge independently for these advertisements.

Market Statistics of the Airbnb App till 2020

• Around 3 million hosts worldwide
• 14000 new hosts joining the platform in 2021
• 7 million property listings
• Present in 1000+ cities
• Presence in 200+ countries

How to Build an App like Airbnb

1. Decide on the App Features

Features Necessary in a User App:

1. Quick & Easy Registration & Logins
2. Search feature to search for properties & locations
3. Show listing based on its availability on the selected date
4. Property details like Price, nearby locations, area, beds, facilities, etc.
5. Select number of days of stay
6. Payment Options

Features Necessary in a Host App:

• Account & Property Registration
• Inventory & Showcase Management
• Push Notifications
• Reservations Management
• Transaction Management
• Account Setting
• Payment Updates & Dashboard

Features Necessary in Admin App:

• DashBoard
• User Management
• Manage Amenities
• Manage Reservations
• Payment, Promotions & Offers
• Reports & Analytics

Advanced Features in-app like Airbnb:

• GPS Integration
• Integrate Social Media Platform
• Multi-Language and Currency Support

2. Figure Out Your Timeline to Build an App like Airbnb

Based on the above features decided to be implemented in building an app like Airbnb the tentative timeline to build an app like Airbnb can be referred on the left.

3. Pick Your Technology Stack to Build an App like Airbnb

The technology stack to be used to build an app like Airbnb should be robust so that the app could handle a huge influx of users at a time. The app should be able to perform up to the optimal level whenever a huge number of users try to book a stay depending on the seasonality.

4. Figure Out the Cost to Build an App like Airbnb

The above-mentioned details are just the reference for building an app like Airbnb. Apart from the above details one also needs to clarify clearly the launch deadline, exact requirements, Any new or unique feature that needs to be developed, and many more things.

The approximate cost estimation an entrepreneur can consider for a ballpark view is in the range of $20K — $60K. But why go for an approximation when you can get a detailed quote for Airbnb like App Development.

Conclusion

If you have read until here then I am sure you might be passionate about developing something like Airbnb for your own reasons. So promoting ourselves no more you are already aware who to contact if you need help or assistance in developing an app like Airbnb.

Adios!!!