by Komaker | Sep 15, 2020 | Articles
It was 2008 when two American designers on a tight budget decided to rent out their accommodation in order to earn some money to pay for their lodging. thinking it was a good business idea, they gathered some money and began searching for investors to support their startup idea. They built an easy-to-use website and posted their living room for rent there. Finally, this platform is what we now know as Airbnb, one of the most well-known and thriving marketplaces.
In time, the boys updated and expanded the platform implementing the following key features:
- Sign-up/Login process
- Be a traveler or host
- Monitor new listings.
How to build a website like Airbnb?
If you’re looking to replicate the success of the lodging giant, we’ve gathered a few points to guide you along the way.
1. Think about THE PRODUCT
To develop a similar easy-to-use website you have two options:
- Ready-made solution
- Custom development.
Ready-made solution
For a low price and fast launch, this is the ideal solution. You will find both non-customizable and customizable templates to build up your website.
Custom development from cero
Custom marketplace development is the way to go if you want to give the most value to your customers or if you’re looking to implement q special business logic. This is cost- and time-consuming, but you will get a unique web solution built by a professional.
The technology stack is crucial to a project for several reasons. First, it has a big impact on the budget because all programming tools differ in their complexity. Second, it affects the scalability of the platform and the time required for development.
Let’s take a look at the tech stack options for your marketplace development:
- Programming languages — Ruby, JavaScript
- Application Framework — Ruby on Rails
- JavaScript Framework — React.js
- Automation Frameworks — RSpec, Capybara
- SQL data storage — PostgreSQL
- Data storage — Redis
- Web server — Nginx
- Web application server — Puma
- Hosting — Amazon Web Services (AWS)
2. Define the functionality required
To create a similar website to Airbnb you will need to have the following basic features, to be able to cover the demands of both travelers and hosts.
Authorization and roles:
To allow from one side for hosts to publish their property and specify their offer, and for the traveler to be able to track existing and available options, read the description, book accommodation, or contact the owner.
Personal profile data:
The basic feature to allow clients to manage their settings. Details such as modifying their account settings like phone number, password, or email need to be easy and quick.
Listing:
Hosts need to be able to specify the description of provided property like facilities, number of beds, accommodation type, and pricing.
Booking system:
When a booking needs to be made, guests look for specific dates. They must be able to do a request, so the host receives the inquiry and can decide to take it or not.
To boost the user experience we’ve listed some added features to add to your website:
- Messaging
- Online maps
- Notification system
- Online payments
- Community support.
3. Create THE MVP
We suggest building an MVP as a first step. This will save you valuable time and money. In addition, you will receive relevant information from investors and early adopters that will help you validate your idea.
Don’t stress too much about building the full version as MVP, focus on implementing only the basic functionalities. Later on, you will grow the website including additional features.
Do focus on getting the core functions for your Airbnb-like marketplace MVP like:
- Sign up/Sign in
- Guest and Host roles
- Search option
- Filters
- Search results
- Property page
- A host contact form
- Communication channels
- Relevant recommendation
Last word
We are confident that sticking through the principles above, and customizing your solution you will be able to integrate the lodging market with a unique web product. If you’re looking for high-quality built-in applications such as Airbnb, Komaker has the solution waiting for you.
