8 Secrets Behind the Success of Airbnb [Updated 2023]

Airbnb stands for Air bed and Breakfast, and this web application works as a global marketplace for people who might be looking for a place to stay or some kind of accommodation. No matter what region you are in, this website is excellent for finding affordable housing options.

It is a remarkable web forum that helps connect Airbnb hosts with travelers who want to find any kind of rental property. This also gives a chance for hosts to earn some extra money without having to get into much hassle.

Due to its revolutionary app idea, Airbnb is among the most popular apps being highly discussed and used among the masses. Another important factor contributing to this app’s popularity is the Webby Award that its site received in 2014 for its functionality and user experience.

Airbnb Statistics Worldwide in 2022

Starting in 2008, Airbnb has become one of the leading websites to find accommodations in almost any region of the world. It provides travelers with the utmost convenient options to find a suitable temporary place.

Considering that, here are some globally recorded statistics about the success of Airbnb in 2022:

  • Over 100,000 cities have active Airbnb listings
  • Approximately 2.9 million hosts use Airbnb
  • Almost 220 countries and regions have active Airbnb listings
  • More than 14,000 hosts are joining Airbnb every month this year
  • Worldwide, there are +7 million listings on Airbnb

Airbnb Growth Facts

  • First funding of $20,000 by Y Combinator in 2009
  • In 2014, TPG Capital invested $450 million
  • Technology Crossover Ventures and Google Capital invested $555.5 million in 2016
  • The growth rate increased 40% in 2018
  • The compound growth rate calculated was 153% from 2009 to 2019

Annual Revenue Statistics from 2019 to 2022

Year Revenue Increment
2019 $4.805B 31.58%
2020 $3.378B 29.7% decline
2021 $5.992B 77.37%
2022 $7.383B 66.89%

Reasons for Popularity of Airbnb

Back in the day, travelers really needed to struggle a lot when it came to finding an accommodation at affordable prices as well as convenient locations. However, with Airbnb coming into business, things really took a new turn.
Here are some of the common reasons of popularity and success of Airbnb:

  • Open Platform
  • Affordability
  • Convenient
  • Diverse Locations
  • household Amenities

How Much Does it Cost to Make an App like Airbnb

Here is an in-depth review of how much it is likely to take to build a clone app like Airbnb:

Airbnb Tech Stack

Programming Languages Ruby, Javascript
Framework Ruby on Rails
Web Server Nginx
Javascript Framework React
Key-Value Storage Redix
Cloud Storage Amazon S3, EBS
Cloud Hosting Amazon EC2
Cloud Database Amazon RDS
Big Data Tools Presto, Druid, Airpal

Features of Airbnb for Guests

  • Registration
  • Login
  • Search
  • Payments
  • Profiles
  • Chats
  • Favorites
  • Order

Features of Airbnb for Hosts

  • Advertisements
  • GPS
  • Push Notifications
  • Requests

Estimated Costs According to Features

Features Web Development Android Development iOS Development
Features for Guest $25,000- $27,000 $19,000- $21,000 $19,000- $21,000
Features for Hosts $11,000- $13,000 $10,000- $12,000 $10,000- $12,000
Design $7,000- $9,500 $6,000- $8,000 $7,500- $10,000

Estimated Costs According to Regions

Regions Web Development Android Development iOS Developmen
North America $75-$120 $90-$130 $90-$130
Central Europe $30-$65 $35-$75 $35-$75
Western Europe $70-$90 $80-$110 $80-$110
Australia $41- $70 $45-$70 $45-$70

Finding the best custom software development services? We’re here to help you.

Finding the best custom software development services? We’re here to help you.

Finding the best custom software development services? We’re here to help you.

Airbnb Business Model

1. The Site Gives Sense of Well-Being

Airbnb has chosen to replace the photos it previously used on the homepage with videos. They have been featuring people with different profiles and everyday life situations. This helps in making things more relatable and interactive.

The situations depicted in the video inspire confidence and provide a sense of well-being, all accented with a simple message: welcome home.

2. It Facilitates the Search for Ads

This may seem very obvious, but many hotels or hotel chains’ websites do not have a visible and easy-to-access search engine. However, in Airbnb, it is right in the middle of the screen and above the waterline.

This makes it easy to know whether or not you would rush to the site. Another point to note is the suggestion of cities provided by Google and the automatic passage of the departure date to the arrival date. These things may sound simple, but they can certainly enhance the user’s convenience.

3. To Provide a Good User Experience

The display of results for a query is evident, with a screen divided into three: one-third for the card and two-thirds for ads. Roll on an ad allows the highlight on the map. The latter automatically loads new results when one zooms in on a particular neighborhood.

Above announcements, the user can access the main filters but may unfold more if desired. Note that the scroll bar for the price has become essential for any merchant site!

4. High-Quality Photos

One of the key points behind the success of Airbnb is its pictures, which are found in large quantities and are generally very good. This is a point of honor for the company, which also offers free to its guests the passage of a photographer.

This is especially a great idea that allows the site to get great pictures, giving Internet users what they want. Fastidious site design could not afford to have poor quality visuals.

In addition, each photo taken by a photographer on the site is supported by the words “Photo verified,” giving confidence to site visitors. On the new version, they also occupy the entire page width of an ad and are placed at the top.

5. Create Simple Pages, Clear And Logical

Its site pages and app screens are built in a brilliant way. Firstly, it showcases the place with visual images that take the full width of the page to highlight the location.

A photo of the host and a brief description of the accommodation is provided ( the type of dwelling, number of people, number of rooms, and beds). Airbnb now also uses symbols for this information, a bit like the OTAs.

6. Give a Sense of Trust

What often hinders a user from buying online is the lack of confidence that he can feel. On Airbnb, everything is done to reassure. It first passes through the guests’ profiles. They are invited to a photo and a description of themselves and to be checked through their Facebook profile, phone number, or email address.

They can even get recommendations from their friends. Alongside this, the visitors denote each property that assigns ratings to different criteria and leaves a comment. This option of commenting is only possible for people who make a living room, closing the door to fraudulent comments.

7. Submit a Simple Purchase Process

Airbnb app proposes an immediate booking system through which users can immediately confirm their location without waiting for the host’s response. Another critical point here is that you can make any booking with a Click!

Summary of the request, sending a message to the host, and choice of payment method all these features are on the same page. If you have a profile, your credit card may be already registered, representing a significant comfort and pushing the purchase.

8. Create More Than Just a Rental Site

Finally, you should note that Airbnb is not a commercial app. Instead, it is well-rooted in the theme of travel and discovery. This app offers city guides that allow (future) clients to discover the neighborhoods where they will reside.

These are mostly not neighborhoods where there are hotels and attractions. This way, they can easily find suitable accommodation without worrying about security or other similar reasons.

Final Thoughts

The recipe for the Success of Airbnb may seem obvious with the above-mentioned points, but you still have to think about it and successfully apply these points consistently. In addition to a graphical look that was very successful, it is a combination of factors and features that makes renting places more convenient. These allow the user to easily use the app, like it and trust it.

Come to Us!

Clustox is the leading custom software development company in the industry. If you have a similar app idea and want to build a clone app of Airbnb for your business, you can certainly contact us for the best outcomes. Get your free consultation now to start working on your app idea right away!

Come to Us!

Clustox is the leading custom software development company in the industry. If you have a similar app idea and want to build a clone app of Airbnb for your business, you can certainly contact us for the best outcomes. Get your free consultation now to start working on your app idea right away!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main reason for Airbnb's success?

Among the many compatible features, one thing that certainly stands out in the app is the product’s wide-ranging appeal. As it supports hundreds of thousands of listings worldwide, it has helped hosts and customers connect for an affordable and easy-to-access place to live.

What strategies does Airbnb use?

The primary Airbnb success strategy is to provide value to everyone as well as the promise and deliver on time without much hassle. From user-generated listings to reviews and feedback, plenty of things make it an excellent web application.

How much does it cost to build an app like Airbnb?

While it ultimately depends on what features you might want to add to your clone app of Airbnb, the project cost can range from at least $10,000 to $50,000.

What is the tech stack of Airbnb??

The main tech stack used in Airbnb includes GraphQL, React, storybook, JavaScript, Ruby, java, react plays cloud database, and many other technologies.

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WEB OR MOBILE APP? CHOOSE PROGRESSIVE WEB APP!

Are you stuck at deciding whether to go for the web or the mobile app? Worry not as Google thinks in completely new directions and presents a solution to this problem: Progressive Web Apps (short: “PWA”). A Progressive Web app is simply put the optimal symbiosis of a website and a mobile app or you can say the best of both worlds! In our last post, we discussed the features of the progressive web app which reduce development costs, simplify the tracking while making Progressive web apps simply pretty cool. How exactly? Just keep reading!

1. What is a Progressive Web App – PWA?

  • a “normal” web page that behaves like an app
  • or a “normal” website can be accessed offline
  • or a “normal” website that loads as fast as an installed program

A Progressive Web App is the perfect blend of website and app. In HTML5 and JavaScript programming, they are like a normal web page accessible in any browser, but these create an authentic app experience with the user and sustainably strengthen customer loyalty. This is done by using the same techniques of traditional apps such as:

  • Push messages that inform the user of events occurring, extremely.
  • Fast loading times(even with a bad Internet connection) which provide a real-time experience and
  • An offline operation that enables the permanent availability of the Website.

Unlike traditional native apps for phone, tablet, or PC, Progressive Web Apps come without installation; this saves the user from the hassles of going through the installation process and makes the app more accessible and convenient. When a user uses the progressive web app, a shortcut can be created on the home screen of the user, ensuring at all times the content can be retrieved.

2. Advantages of PWA against A Native App

The advantages of a progressive Web app compared to a so-called native app (what we commonly refer to as simply “App”), are clear and numerous:

  • Easier tracking because no FireBase is necessary
  • No installation required hence the memory of the device of the end user does not affect the app
  • Better discoverability in search engines
  • No banners or interstitials needed to ask the app to download
  • Linkable – the app can be shared with a link

Advantage 1: Simple Tracking

As in principle, PWA is a normal website; hence we can track users and their demographics etc. with standard knowledge in Google Analytics. However, with native apps, a special app tracking must be used. Google itself recommends, in this case, tracking with Firebird instead (or in addition to) Google Analytics.

Advantage 2: No installation required

The biggest advantage of Progressive Web App is that the final user does not need to install the app. Mobile users are quick to click on something, but the installation request represents a major hurdle. It consumes space and apps need to access the data of the users, which many scares.
Everyone certainly has experienced the moment when they tried to update an app and a popup came showing that the memory is already full. The app is a blessing especially for users, who do not own the latest model of the smartphone with a large memory.

Advantage 3: Easily found in search engines

Granted, Google is dedicated to the better discoverability of apps in the search results. Using Deep Links or app streaming, it is also possible to display app results in normal searches. However, this is technically relatively complex and requires mostly a good SEO agency. A PWA is normally displayed in search results without requiring special techniques since this search engine can easily render JavaScript (js).

Advantage 4: No app advertising is needed

Often users are taken to a mobile page and is beaten first with a banner or interstitial. The insertion encourages you to install the appropriate app. From the marketing perspective, there is often no other way to get the user to the app carefully. The procedure is correct yet, “annoying” for many users. Also, the operator risked potential customers to lose, who just wanted to quickly look up something without installation. All thoughts or fears in this direction are not used, because no installation is necessary.

Advantage 5: add link made easy

As progressive Web App in principle is a website with advanced features, the application behaves as basic as a Web page. In practice, this means that you can put a normal link to share the app as any other website. Deep links or App Indexing is not necessary. For instance for marketing, you can write a guest article in a thematically relevant blog, where you can just put a normal link. This can be a referral magazine on your Progressive Web App that may include a conventional HTML embed link. This strengthens your reputation and possibly also the ranking. Added together, it is easier to push a PWA to operate as extensive app marketing.

3. Benefits of PWA Over a Mobile Web Page

  • Instant Loading: extremely fast loading times
  • Add to Home Screen and Web App Install Banners
  • push Notifications
  • Offline First

Benefit 1: Instant Loading

The instant loading of a website has become an important success factor. Of course, it must be considered that each website visitor is a potential customer and you can lose sales and profits – just because your website takes too long to load. As a rule of thumb, you can lose the potential customer with 3-second rule i.e. if the site is not sufficiently loaded in three seconds that it can fully operate, the user jumps to another link. Ultimately, Page Speed has also become a ranking factor. Put simply, Page speed with good content and comparable external references on Google further entwine above!

Benefit 2: Shortcut at Home Screen

By using the menu icon of the browser, the progressive Web apps can be added to the home screen of the smartphone. The result is a shortcut icon on the phone of the end user that opens the associated Progressive web app with just one click and almost without delay. The user experience is therefore correspondingly interactive as an app. The user retention is similarly high as in the installation of a native app.

Benefit 3: Push Notifications

With a progressive Web App, push notifications are possible. This works for the user as well as with a native app, they need to install their smartphone. Through push notifications, you can instantly inform your customers on new actions, for instance, a publisher may indicate new spending. The user gets on his cell phone a message about the sale of discount promotion: “Get 50% discount this week” With one click, users go directly to the relevant page.

Benefit 4: Offline First

Once the content has been loaded it can be called these offline or slower connection. This has a huge impact on customer loyalty as it saves them from the frustration of waiting for the app to load or to connect to the network. In addition to that, special technology ensures that the site is optimally cached and so also works offline.

The use of Progressive Web Apps is on boom these days as it is a perfect blend for all who want to have a mobile site AND a native app but in a cost effective way. The app makes the best choice for the target group that tends to have a poor Internet connection. Finally, a PWA is a good tip for all web enthusiasts who want to use the latest technologies. We do have great examples of Progressive web apps such as Booking.com, AirBerlin and Flipkart that have created a huge difference in the app industry. Next can be yours. Share your app idea with us and we will accompany you in making the successful app.

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