In this post: we look at Airbnb’s business model. And we assess the potential of creating a similar business using a clone script called RentRoom. And finally we look at the main features of a clone script which are absolutely necessary.
What is Airbnb’s business model?
To simply put it, Airbnb is a website or app which lists vacation homes and properties. It allows travelers, like you and me, to search for vacation homes with amenities like a hotel. We could also say that Airbnb has democratized the accommodation industry.
Airbnb was launched during a massive recession in 2008. The recession didn’t stop people from traveling (especially for business), however it just made it difficult to pay for expensive hotel rooms when a simple, budget experience would have sufficed.
The concept of budget hotels was not introduced by Airbnb, this existed for many years. However, the trouble was there weren’t many budget hotels to accommodate the growing list of travelers who wanted pocket-friendly lodging.
This is where the founders of Airbnb saw an opportunity in San Francisco. They looked at three parameters;
- High cost of hotel room rents
- Many homes with unused rooms
- The growing demand for cheap and a more personal accommodation
San Francisco is a posh city (most of it), especially with its close proximity to the silicon valley. Houses in SF have lots of rooms. Where most of them are turned into vanity spaces or remain completely unused. Home rents in SF are incredibly high. The founders of Airbnb, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia could not afford the rent for their loft apartment in SF.
Chesky and Gebbia came up with the idea of putting an air mattress in their living room and turning it into a bed and breakfast. The goal was to make a few dollars of income. In February 2008, the company’s third cofounder Nathan Blecharczyk, Chesky’s former roommate, joined as the Chief Technology Officer and the third co-founder of the new venture, which they named AirBed & Breakfast.
They combined their technical expertise and entrepreneurial spirits to create a website which would allow local residents to list their unused, under-utilized rooms. And allow travelers to book cheap room accommodation, when hotels were sticking to their pre-recession room rates. This worked as a masterstroke. By 2009, AirBnb had nearly 10,000 users and 2,500 listings.
This is where Airbnb stands today – per DMR:
- 190 countries
- 65,000+ cities
- 150 million users
- 640,000 hosts
- 4 million listings
- $31 billion in valuation
- $3.4 billion of funding raised
How much revenue is Airbnb generating?
Since its inception Airbnb has raised $3.4 billion and has grown its listings and users like clock work on steroids. The above mentioned statistics speak volume about the success of the idea of bed and breakfast offered on the cheap, worldwide.
As of 2017, the amount of tax generated by Airbnb is a whopping $240 million worldwide. With an ever increasing demand for pocket-friendly lodging, there is room for more such platforms like Airbnb.
Can you replicate Airbnb’s business model?
Now that the Airbnb (bed and breakfast) fever has spread across the world, there is always demand for platforms to bring pocket-friendly accommodation and travelers on a single platform.
In the total travel traffic and revenue generated, Airbnb represents a small part. This goes to show that the travel and tourism industry is ripe for disruption which puts the service providers and consumers at the center.
If entrepreneurs can create unique lodging services at the right cost and market it wisely, there is always scope for new entrants.
How to create a platform like Airbnb
The founders of Airbnb had to sit and write code to create their flagship website. And they have perfected and innovated the platform since the day of launch. So, if you want to create a business like Airbnb, then there is no need for you or your team to sit and write codes.
Like any website template which has to be created once and can be used any number of times. Similarly, Airbnb’s fundamental code can be cloned and be used any number of times. The best thing about using a clone script is that it comes packed with features which would take a large team and a lot of time to build.
RentRoom is one such Airbnb clone which has been written with all the features, security, and data privacy. You don’t have to hire a team nor spend a lot of money, all you gotta do is download the clone script, install and customize it to your heart’s content.
What features are absolutely necessary in an Airbnb clone script?
RentRoom is a perfect Airbnb clone script, which has all the features necessary to build a successful platform. Let us look at the features which are needed for a modern peer to peer lodging platform.
When you look through the internet to find the best Airbnb clone, there are five main segments which you need to pay attention to. RentRoom is built with you (the entrepreneur), the service providers (property owners), and users (travelers) in mind from the ground up. Let us look at the five main aspects of a clone script.
1 – RentRoom Design
- SEO built in: The script (both the website and the app) are built from the ground-up to comply with SEO standards. This helps you to attract more, regular traffic from search engines such as Google. You do not have to hire a digital marketing agency to tweak your site’s SEO.
- Customization: What’s the use of a script which doesn’t allow you to put your own logo, change the color scheme or font? With RentRoom you can customize the entire platform, on both web and mobile. It’s your platform, customize it the way you want it.
- API integration: say if you want to use a local payment app and integrate it on your platform. With RentRoom you can integrate any API and customize your service delivery.
2 – RentRoom is built for secure and quick transactions
- Payments: RentRoom is built with a strong tech stack which makes is extremely secure and easy to transact on. Allow users to pay via multiple payment modes securely on both the web and mobile platforms.
3 – RentRoom delivers top notch user experience – UX
- Responsive design: The site is built with a responsive design theme. This means users can seamlessly experience your platform on any device and any layout. Most of us use multiple devices during the day. So, if a user is checking for properties on a desktop PC at work, and on the phone at the end of the day, your platform will deliver similar experience without causing interruptions or asking the user to click a few more times.
- Advance filter: Users can select specific features such as properties with breakfast (or more) and get the desired results.
- Host details: Showcase host details with property features and ratings. And allow users to choose the best hosts.
- Booking calendar: Allow users to select dates using a calendar with minimal clicks. Just like on Airbnb.
- Enable guest chat: Allow users to chat directly with the host with a clean UI.
- Mange disputes: Manage dispute tickets, assign them to people to solve issues quickly on this dynamic platform.
4 – RentRoom gives users the power of performance analytics
- Revenue model: Allow users (property owners or hosts) to analyze past performance and gain complete control in setting dynamic pricing to stay ahead of their competition. RentRoom is built to give the best possible tools to hosts to succeed.
5 – What about after sales service and upgrades
- LIVE DEMO: Before you buy RentRoom – the Airbnb clone script – you can experience a LIVE DEMO of the web and mobile platforms here.
- Download a lite version for free: We have created a lite version of the full stack clone script. We call it RentRoom LITE. The good thing is, you can DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE, play with it, see how it looks and feels for real, before you buy the real thing.
- Knowledgebase and Documentation: These sections offer you all the help with customizing your platform once you buy the full version of RentRoom. Check out this section here and here.
- Tech support: The moment you buy the full version, we offer round-the-clock tech support till you go live. This is to help you at any juncture of customization.
- Free upgrades for life: The best thing about RentRoom is that you get free platform upgrades for life. So, everytime we release a new version of the software with added features and security patches, you get to download them for free, for life.
