Updated: May 31, 2022 
In this technology contemporized era, the connected owner, a host, can easily connect to a guest using a rental property mobile application.
Vacation rental applications now have broken the ground and are leading apps around the globe.
And for various categories of people like travelers, corporate employees, or remote workers, Airbnb is the icon.
Today there is an increasing number of people sharing their homes with travelers and earing.
Developing an Airbnb app clone can be a great start for your business, thanks to Airbnb.
Airbnb offers various functionalities and features such as searching hosts, rental properties, hotels, booking, and travel destinations.
Thus, it is worth investing in developing an app like Airbnb that offers amazing features and improves users’ travel experience.
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is a widely known rental platform mobile application for vacations and other purposes.
Through the app, travelers can rent a local place to stay for the days they want to and experience services from.
It acts as a bridge between hosts and guests.
Airbnb is headquartered in San Francisco, offering on-demand hospitality services worldwide through mobile and web applications.
The concept of Airbnb has entirely changed how people search for accommodations.
For example, when travelers fly overseas and rent an Airbnb room locally, they experience a homely feeling and taste of cultural immersions.
Demographic-Based Stats about Airbnb
As per the Statista report, Airbnb has over 40 million users,
…and the total revenue reached 5.99 billion U.S. dollars across the globe.
Also, the gross booking value as per stats is 46.88 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
Airbnb Overview
Type: Public company
Founders: Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk
Founded: August 2008
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S.
Revenue: US$4.81 billion 2021
Rating: The average rating is 4.5.
Area Served: 220 countries and 100,000 cities
Users: 45.6 million users.
Hosts: 2.9 million hosts
How Profitable Is Airbnb?
Airbnb makes money by evolving a middleman between tenants and guests.
Every time a visitor books the host’s property with the help of the Airbnb app, the host pays a fee to Airbnb plus the service charge as per the entire cost of the guest’s stay.
Factors that impact the value number of Airbnb:
An average number of visitors per listing yearly
The number of listings
The average rent per guest
Airbnb’s profit
Who Uses Airbnb the Most?
As per 2017 statistics data for the age groups related to Airbnb:
36% between ages 25 and 24
23% between ages 35 and 44
15% between 18 and 24
14% between 45 and 54
7% between 55 and 64
5% age 65 and older
How Does Airbnb Work?
Airbnb working model for Guests
Create a login page for the users to help them register for your services through mobile or web versions.
Once users complete their profile, their pictures with I.D. and contact details are necessary.
An app must enable users to customize their search using various filters like location, prices, property type, time period, etc.
Once the users have decided on the place and accommodation, the request then goes to the host for confirmation.
Once the host accepts the request, the guest can make payments using multiple payment options.
Then the final step is easy check-in and enjoying the stay.
Airbnb working model for Hosts
Property owners first register or log in to the app, and the required age for a property owner must be 18.
Once the profile is created, they have to add all the essential details of the property such as an address, location, space area, type of apartment, services included, number of guests required, and more. Also, they need to go through a sequence of verification and scanning procedures.
The property host then needs to upload an H.D. ( high definition) image of the property they want to rent. Airbnb offers free photography services to make your place look the best if you are not photographically inclined.
The host must inform the guest in advance, like how many flights of stairs you have, hygiene standards, quiet hours, etc.
If the guest agrees to terms and conditions, the host approves/rejects the stay.
The host then receives the payment within 24 hours once the guest checks in.
The business model of Airbnb
Airbnb works on an aggregator business model like Uber.
Its business model is exponential compared to the hotel business such as Hilton and Marriott, one of the biggest hotel chains in the world.
The biggest assets of Airbnb are the people and the hosts, who play a key role in the Airbnb process and act as a platform for both hosts and travelers.
Hosts set their profile for guests to look out for their property for stay, and if a guest wants to stay there, the hosts will get rent in exchange.
Monetization Opportunities
Commissions taken from Hosts: Airbnb takes 3 % to 4% of transaction charges from the property owner on every reservation approved as a commission. It also charges guests around 6% to 12% booking fees as per reservation requirements such as cleaning charges, currency fees, and so on. And almost 10% of service charges are deducted on booking accepted by the host every time.
Transaction charges from Travelers: The app charges a transaction fee when users book an accommodation listed on the app.
Fee for Property Listing: If a host wants to list their properties on the Airbnb app, Airbnb charges a 3%to 5% payment for listing their property on the Airbnb platform.
Advertisement Charges: Airbnb takes a fee for publishing advertisements from other brands. Property Verification Charges: A fee is received from property owners to verify the ownership of the property.
Key Features required to develop an Airbnb clone App
There are three interfaces,
Property Owner Panel
Traveler/Guest Panel
Admin Panel
Property Owner Panel
Log-in: This feature lets hosts log in to the app using phone numbers, email I.D.s, and social network profiles.
Profile: In the profile section, users get access to add their personal information like phone numbers and email addresses.
Types of activities: In the activity section, hosts can decide whether they want to offer guests great experiences in the city or want to rent accommodation.
Listing: In this section of the app, the host puts all the detailed descriptions about the accommodation they want to offer, the number of guests the place can accommodate, accommodation pictures, arrangements, and the location. They have the right to add the experience they provide to their guests, language, etc.
Push Notifications: When the guest books a stay, the owner receives an instant notification about guest details, requirements, and reservation date. Once the host approves it, the guest can then make the payment. And the transaction message goes to the host.
Reviews: The profile of the house owner has reviews from the previous guests and ratings.
Exclusive Features for Hosts
Rate and give reviews for guests
Can check past booking and update details
Check to see transaction history
Communicate with guests via messages
The Guest Features
Log-in/Sign-Up: Users need to register with their email address or social media accounts to book a place for their desired period on an app.
Search & Favorites: The search filter allows users to search for the accommodation in a particular location using filters like areas, date, price, city, etc.
Live Chats: Live chat option lets guests and hosts communicate with each other. They can discuss all the details for the stay, share pictures of the property, ask any questions to hosts, and so on.
Booking Window: The booking feature lets users book the accommodation they like as travel dates and make the payment.
Calendar: It lets users use the calendar and pick desirable dates for booking.
Favorites: This feature lets users add apartments they like while skimming through the app.
Payment Gateway: Airbnb offers payment gateways that are simple, secure, hassle-free, and seamless.
Notifications: Users get notified about instant alerts regarding confirmation and bookings.
Manage account: The user profile has a name, phone number, and address.
Exclusive Features for Guests
Manage Profile
communicate via messages
View/ manage bookings
Rate hosts and give feedback
Manage payments history
Admin Features
Dashboard: This feature allows the admin to handle the operations and microservices. The admin easily checks service requests in the dashboard with required details, like date, time, and payment history.
Manually Assign Requests: The admin may offer service requests on behalf of customers from the admin panel.
Fare Project Management: This feature lets the admin handle expenses in just a few clicks.
Factors Influencing the Cost of Developing an Airbnb-like App
Platform: Android/iOS
Design
App testing and complexity
App development company
Development Team and Tech Stack for Airbnb Clone App
Project Manager
UI/UX designer
Front-end developers
Backend developers
iOS developers
Q.A. engineer
Programming languages
Swift for iOS
Kotlin for Android
Frameworks
React
Cloud Hosting
Amazon EC2
Cloud Storage
Amazon S3
AWS EB3
Cost to develop an app like Airbnb
A disadvantage of developing an on-demand rental app like Airbnb is the app development rate per hour. The cost of the Airbnb clone app is calculated by the number of hours as per the professional app development team.
First Step:-
Developing an app like Airbnb may take between 49 hours to 60 hours.
Strategy making will take 20-25 hours.
API implementation may require 20-25 hours
Database setup requires 10-12 hours
14-18 hours are required for performing services and the library.
The app price varies globally for development fees charged by app development companies:
USA/Canada development teams: $50-$250/hour
Western Europe: $30-$170/hour
Eastern Europe: $20-$150/hour
Australia: $50-$150/hour
India: $10-$80/hour
Thus, if the mobile app development company charges $50 per hour to develop the Airbnb clone, the total amount will cost around $2500-$4000.
Registration: The registration page of users with phone numbers, email addresses, or social media accounts costs around $300, and the development time is approximately 12 hours.
Create a Profile: Profile creation requires the development of two pages, one for the guest and the other for owners. And this feature will require almost 24 hours to integrate and will cost around $600.
Filters: The filter option allows users to search for a host, and the host can add their property.
Filter option has features like:
Place to visit
Check-in and check-out dates
Number of guests
Property type
Room type
Sort by price
Room size
Instant booking and super host option
Amenities
The estimation time is 24 hours, and the cost will be roughly $1200.
Room Variants: After the research, the results page will show all the options per the filtration process. The user will see the following information:
Pictures
Price
Reviews and Ratings
Description
Location Map
Terms and conditions
Developing a filter feature may take up to 180 hours.
20-24 hours for variants list
40-45 hours for property information
The host profile requires 16-18 hours
15-17 hours to creature review and rating option
40-42 hours for the booking feature
The check-in and check-out dates feature requires 16-18 hours
16 hours are required to build a calendar view of available dates
16-18 hours for the development of message/text the host” feature
Thus, the total amount to develop this page costs around $9000.
Host panel: People who want to rent a property or wish to become a host on the app register themselves.
And the cost and time to develop a host interface requires around 20 hours and costs $1000
Backend Development: It is unbelievable to create an app without working on the backend for the app to function adequately.
Thus, the development of this panel is time-consuming and tough.
The backend development requires around 600 hours to complete and costs around $30000.
To Elucidate
The travel and tourism industry is vast and expanding at a vast pace.
The number of travelers is increasing, and property owners are also getting more customers.
Thus, developing an app like Airbnb is a profitable venture and worth investing time in to offer the best customer experience and safety.
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