Airbnb was launched in 2008 to help two guys rent out a couple of rooms in their apartment. They launched this site, just to survive as they were broke. Seven years later, this seemingly simple idea has grown into a $10 billion company with millions of unique visitors a day.
Interesting facts about Airbnb
The success of Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, the founders of Airbnb, has inspired many to create short-term rental websites. And if this idea also appeals to you, then you will find a detailed guide on how to create an Airbnb-like site, and the calculation of the estimated cost of such a project.
#1 Do Market Research
When Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia started, they planned to quickly earn money by renting out apartments to attendees of the International Council of Industrial Design Societies/Industrial Design Society of America (ICSID/IDSA) World Congress.
The guys decided that hotels and hostels would be crowded with congress participants, therefore they would not have any free rooms, and if they did, then only very expensive ones. And if you advertise cheap accommodation on sites where forum participants gather and launch targeted advertising on social networks, then people will prefer this alternative to high prices in hotels. And so it happened.
This is a great example of market analysis and focus on the target audience – Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia paid off their apartment debts in a short time and earned $ 1,000 in addition. And if you plan to create your own analogue of Airbnb, then you must also decide in advance on the target audience and how to reach it.
Most likely, these will be people who meet the following criteria:
- young (millennials) – they are more inclined to agree to live in someone else’s apartment, even with the owners;
- thrifty – those who are willing to spend time and effort looking for a cheap alternative to a hotel room are needed;
- and, of course, these are people who go somewhere for a short time (tourists, people on a business trip, conference participants, and others).
#2 Find the perfect domain name
Airbnb originally launched the site under the domain name Airbedandbreakfast.com because the option they wanted was taken and they didn’t have the money to buy it. The problem with Airbedandbreakfast.com is the length. Long names are hard to remember and lack the powerful message that most short names have. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia understood this, so as soon as the opportunity arose, they bought Airbnb.com.
Criteria for an ideal domain name:
- short (maximum length – 12-15 characters);
- easy to remember (it is desirable that the name consists of two syllables);
- not associated with other brands and domain names;
- repeats or beats the brand name;
- domain zone “.com” (top-level domain, or TLD).
If you can’t come up with a domain name yourself, use Namestation.com or its equivalent. The Namestation algorithm generates random names based on a list of keywords. At the same time, the site shows which of the generated names are free and which are already taken.
If you like a title and it’s already taken, you might be able to buy it back. The price can be different – from a couple of hundred to several million dollars. You can see the approximate cost or find another option for buying on the sites:
- Afternic BuyDomains;
- ExpiredDomains.net
- DomainNameSales;
- BrandBucket;
- Godaddy;
#3 Design a website concept
To build a site like Airbnb, it’s important to define what we really mean. Here are the main things that define such a site:
- P2P transactions. The site connects individuals who rent their own housing for short-term rent with those who wish to rent someone else’s. It can be a room, an apartment, a bungalow, a cottage, or any other room in which you can live and which meets certain criteria for safety and comfort.
- The importance of location. On sites like Airbnb, the supplier and customer must be physically close to each other in order to complete the exchange of value. The search is carried out using filters and a map.
- Reviews and reputation system. The parties should be able to leave feedback about each other after the conclusion of the transaction (completion of the transaction). Thus, you can create a reputation system that will help weed out unreliable counter-parties.
- Booking management. If the site offers rental services, it will need a booking management system so that landlords can indicate the availability of the service on a particular day, and renters can book accommodation for the dates they need.
- Online payments through the site. The platform must have tools for booking and paying for services through the site. It is convenient and safe, and also allows you to charge a commission on transactions.
- Postponement and retention of funds. Protect users from deception, such as scams with rental ads.
In addition to these things, the concept of the site should also include the development of wireframe, design and interface elements. Usually everyone tries to make the site as close to Airbnb in design as possible, but this is a bad idea – why use something similar to Airbnb if there is an original Airbnb. It is better to create a unique solution, as Booking.com, Wimdu, FlipKey and 9flats did.
#4 Choose a Development Approach
If you have a domain and a concept ready, the next step is to develop the site itself. And here you will have two options: use a ready-made script / theme / template or hire a professional developer. This is a very important decision, so let’s look at both options in more detail.
Individual solution. Outsourcing development is a great option if you need to create a website with unique features, technologies, and design. You can find a developer company at Clutch.co, Appfutura, Goodfirms.co, Extract.co and Adnify. There is a brief description of the companies, contact details and customer reviews. You can also look for developers on the professional social network LinkedIn and on Quora and Reddit questionnaire sites.
Ready solutions. WordPress themes, scripts, and Airbnb website clones make development faster and easier. But they have significant limitations on customizing the functionality and design. The most popular WordPress themes for building websites like Airbnb are Listable, Listify, ClassyAds, SpotFinder, and Love Travel Theme. Popular scripts include Dropinn, Airhotels, BistroStays, Burrow, Renters, and Inout EasyRooms.
#5 Create useful content
Content is articles, pictures and videos. Airbnb became wildly successful as it showcased apartments and rooms in a unique way with lots of extra content. The company hires people to take professional photos and write relevant texts.
Beautiful photos attract people, making them click on the ad and study it.
Thanks to high-quality photographs, people can imagine themselves in the apartment they plan to rent. This enhances a positive user experience and helps increase conversions, which in turn increases the site’s profit.
In addition to listings, Airbnb also has articles with tips, how-tos, and people talking about their experiences and experiences.
Relevant texts also contribute to user engagement. Therefore, hire specialists to write many different articles:
- about the cities where your landlords rent out housing;
- about the right choice of an apartment and what to expect of this process;
- about tourist routes and sights;
- about other things that will be of interest to users.
- Articles can also be written by your users. To do this, enter a special heading and hire people who will view the submissions sent by readers and, if necessary, edit the texts with the consent of the authors.
#6 Hire employees
Modern business is a team sport where singles are doomed to failure, no matter how talented and assertive they may be. Therefore, decide in advance on the staff, management structure and salary for each position. This is necessary to calculate the budget of the project, and also help to understand when and whom to hire.
Where to look for employees:
Linkedin;
Freelancer;
Craigslist;
Upwork.
If you plan to hire copywriters to fill the site with content, then this should be done before the project is launched. The same is true with the support service. However, if you plan to eventually raise venture capital or conduct an IPO, then you will need people for leadership positions, which are better hired after the site is launched.
What positions need to be filled for an IPO (according to the Mequoda method):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO);
Chief operating officer (COO);
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO);
Chief Content Officer (CCO);
Chief Development Officer (CDO);
Chief Technology Officer (CTO);
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO);
Chief Analytics Officer (CAO).
#7 Plan for a successful launch
This event is needed in order to create buzz around your project. But you can’t just appoint him and wait for “grand success.” The launch of the site needs to be prepared:
- notify the maximum number of people about the event by advertising on social networks, on specialized websites and, possibly, in the media and on the radio;
- use influencer marketing – posts and videos of famous bloggers;
- prepare special offers for the first customers – promotions, discounts, bonuses, gifts that will attract potential customers;
- develop a marketing policy and prepare a short story about you and your site – mission, goals, benefits and target audience.
To track the success of an event, set a few goals to achieve with the event. What you need to achieve from users:
- booking is the main goal.
- comments, feedback and suggestions;
- subscribing;
- registration on the website.
Use Google Analytics to track goals and conversion rates. A good tip for increasing conversions is to simplify the interaction with the site and remove distractions such as unnecessary images, links to other sites and social network buttons. These elements distract users from the main goal – booking rooms. Place social media icons away from the booking button in the upper right corner (standard practice).
How much does a site like Airbnb cost
Domain name: £10 to £5,000. Registration of a free domain costs from 10 to 1000 pounds, depending on the seller and the domain zone. Buying someone else’s domain usually costs several thousand pounds, sometimes more. For example, in 2010 the domain name Sex.com was sold for $13 million.
Web Hosting: £50-£300 per month. Choose popular services with good reviews, even if it costs two or three times more. You will be working with sensitive data and financial transactions, so you need guarantees of reliability and security.
Website development: from free to £50,000. A WordPress theme can be free or cost around £100, scripts £300 to £700, and development from scratch £5,000 to £50,000.
Content Creation: Starting at £500 per month. You need quality articles with unique photos and social media posts. They can be ordered on freelance sites, but it is better to hire several people who will do this on an ongoing basis.
Marketing: from £250 per month. £250 is enough for email marketing. Advertising in social networks, the media and on specialized sites is more expensive, but the effect of it is greater. In addition, do not forget about promotions, bonuses and gifts, especially when it comes to popular people. Airbnb often pays instead of showbiz stars when they book services on their site—do the same.
Staff: £1,000 per month. Creating an Airbnb-like site, you will not do without a support team and staff who will serve users. Such employees can be hired on staff or outsourced. The number of people needed scales with the growing popularity of the site.
Payment services: from £200. Users must be able to make instant online payments through your site, and you must be able to charge a fee on those payments. This requires the integration of payment services, such as PayPal, which will cost you £200.
Mobile App: £3,000 to £50,000. Most Internet users use mobile applications for shopping, communication and travel arrangements. If you want your website to be a success, a mobile application is indispensable. And remember that the application, like the site, must support the roles of tenants and landlords.
The total cost of creating a site, like Airbnb, varies from five to several hundred thousand pounds, depending on the development approach, functionality, and marketing policy. This is more than Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky spent in 2008, but then they had no competitors and the requirements for sites were much less.
The Airbnb project makes a lot of money thanks to the huge audience on the site. So, according to similarweb statistics, more than 81 million users visit the platform every month. Airbnb is hugely popular as it offers the best deals compared to competitors like TaskRabbit. Taking into account the capitalization of the company and information from open sources, the turnover for 2012 amounted to more than 1.7 billion dollars, at the same time, profits were about 190 million dollars. As you can see, real estate sites can bring quite large dividends.
If you are interested in development your own Airbnb, Mavia Agency has all the necessary tools and experience for development projects like Airbnb.
