Planning a vacation with family and friends is always exciting, and this time it looks like the trip is really going to happen. You are casually browsing good places to stay while you are planning your trip, having budget and destinations in mind. You booked a couple of good places to stay based on photos & travelers’ feedback. You are now excited about your vacation leaving angry bosses and tons of workload.

Over the years, mobile technology has improved significantly, enhancing user experiences and enabling innovative business ideas. Hotel booking and couch surfing apps, for example, are growing rapidly thanks to mobile apps. These platforms are revolutionizing the way we find hotels and other accommodations, addressing key concerns right from the start.

Travelers mainly look for trust and safety, facilities, user feedback, property insights, and budget when choosing a place to stay. If an app meets these criteria, it’s likely to become a go-to service for many users.

Market Analysis

In today’s era, anyone looking to establish a successful business in this domain must consider the market size and data to make informed decisions. The total revenue of this industry is around $600B in 2024 and is set to become $1000B by 2028. As you can see in the diagram, the figures are rocket-rising.

Revenue For Rental Apps

The majority of sales for hotel booking and property rentals now come from online platforms, gradually diminishing the role of offline channels

Sales Channel Report (Source: https://www.statista.com/)

The rise in online sales can be attributed to how easy travel has become in today’s era. Before the advent of apps and the Internet, planning a vacation and finding destinations was easier, but executing the plans was challenging. Nowadays, factors like stressful work environments and higher living standards motivate people to explore the world and choose new places to travel very often.

How do these apps generate business?

Businesses making money through apps

Every business owner's ultimate goal is to earn revenue through developing property browsing or rental apps. These apps can rely on various business models, with several common revenue channels that help make the business sustainable.

1. Brokerage or Commission

This is the common or mostly used business strategy to gain income via renting out the property and match the travelers and renters on the app. There are commissions included in the price that are being shown on the app vs the price the property owner gets.

2. Offers & Packages

These businesses constantly monitor the peak season of traveling like holidays, vacations, and long weekends. Based on the user’s history, they often bundle the package and give discounts to attract the users on the platform.

3. Premium Services

This is yet one of the best business strategies to retain users on the platform and avoid them going to search on other platforms. Businesses often offer premium services with attractive pricing which users can purchase without even hesitation.

4. Promotions & Advertising

Property owners wish that their property stays maximum occupied during peak seasons. For this, they reach out to the app and opt-in to promote their property to the top of the listing or advertise their property on the home page of the app.

Workflow & Features of the apps

Workflow & Process

The overall processes & workflow of these apps have been constantly improving as there is an increase in competition day by day. While some of the apps have found unique ways to attract customers, here are some of the common features why a user uses these apps.

1. Ease & Flexibility

Users can easily find places and destinations to visit on these apps with just a few taps. This gives them independence and a sense of convenience in finding the right place to stay.

2. Variety of Options

Compared to offline options, users have far more choices to find a good place and rent it out for vacation with their loved ones.

3. Feedback & Insights

This is one of the major factors why users are using these apps and relying on them. A good set of property photos, videos, etc., helps them to understand the vibe and overall idea of the place. Other users who have shared their feedback build trust and enhance the credibility of the property.

4. Personalized Assistance

Apps like Airbnb offer guides and customer support to help users plan their vacations better and find great yet affordable places to stay.

5. AI-Powered Personalised Suggestions & Offers

In the midst of the AI noise, every app aims to showcase offers and listings to users, optimizing for high conversion rates with the help of AI. For instance, if a user has frequently traveled to mountainous areas in the past, AI can prioritize showing them unexplored mountain destinations with a higher likelihood of conversion.

Our Ideas to Enhance the Apps

While we have developed many Hotel or Property Renting apps, we have really great feature ideas we can share to integrate into your app.

Journey Timeline: Users can share their trips or journeys with a proper timeline and a list of all the places they have stayed, and then share it on a public platform.
Story: Users can share their journey stories, including all the ups and downs, in the form of images and videos of the properties they have stayed in, which are then displayed on the map inside the app, similar to Snapchat.
Channels: An open community or channel where frequent travelers help users who want to plan trips to places they have already visited, sharing their experiences. This could earn travelers coins or points credited to their account, which they can use within the app to rent out spaces.

Guide for developing the app

1. Research & Cost Estimation Phase

Analyzing the market & requirements of users before taking the next step is crucial for any business. One or more USPs can suffice the decision of product development and taking the next step. Costing plays an important role as a business owner, you need to spend the capital wisely designing, developing & marketing the product.

2. Features Selection

Select the features that need to be integrated into the app based on your research and your unique ideas that can stand out in the crowd
Development Choosing the right development team can be a tough process but no look further. At Devkrest, we have helped our clients develop similar apps in the past. Consult us now.

3. Testing & Beta Launch

Test the app thoroughly keeping every use case in mind. Maybe launching to the first few batches of users will help and give more clarity of product performance in the market.

4. Deploy & Maintenance

Deploy the product once it is ready and wait for the crowd to arrive. Fix the issues, continue integrating new features, and try the set of ideas you have.

Role of Devkrest in Development

Ready for your next big innovation in the field of property renting apps?

Devkrest offers consultations, and our team can transform your idea into a working product. We navigate through technical complexities, functioning as your extended mobile app development team. Working closely with you, we address new features and assess bugs or issues in the product, ultimately delivering the final product.

End Note

While it may seem easy to build property renting apps, many online markets sell pre-built app codes at cheap prices. However, to excel and make the business successful, it requires the right skills and technology experience to deploy the product into the market. At Devkrest, we offer customized product development for businesses seeking to develop their apps and partner with a mobile/web development company. Our team is ready to help you bring your kickass idea to life.

https://devkrest.com/