Be the Next Airbnb Alternative with These 3 Strategies
The growth of on-demand services has revolutionized the way people look at lots of things, from food to accommodation. Thus, the on-demand economy has brought rise to billion-dollar companies, such as Airbnb.
In case you are not familiar with what Airbnb offers, it is an app that helps users to find and rent short-term accommodation all over the globe. The rentals, which could be homestays, apartments, hostels, etc., are offered by Airbnb hosts. It works like a marketplace where the “accommodation seller” is the host, and the “buyer” is the guest.
Airbnb is overly popular among travelers and has millions of listings, as well as users. That’s because the app offers travelers a way of finding affordable accommodation and connecting with a destination’s culture and people. For these reasons, the company racks in hundreds of millions in revenue every year.
That said, it’s not impossible to create an app that works like Airbnb to offer people an alternative. Here are three strategies that can help you to create Airbnb alternatives:
Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition & Stick to It
A unique selling proposition, otherwise known as USP, is the standout benefit that a company, brand, service, or product offers, which differentiates it from the competitors on the market. It could, for instance, be the lowest price, the best user experience, the pioneer product of its kind, and so on.
Your USP must be not only unique but also meaningful to the target consumers. It is what they will associate your apartment booking app with. Therefore, you will need to do some brainstorming to identify what your USP is to make an app like Airbnb. If you are interested in developing applications like Airbnb click here. What made Airbnb so successful is that it was established on the idea of offering nice bed-and-breakfast accommodation to travelers. The founders could expand to hotel room bookings and reservations if they wanted to. However, they stood by their mission. And for that, the app blew up in popularity.
So, what can one take from that? First, figure out what you would like to offer to the market. Is it an accommodation booking app or website that you want to build? What unique features do you want your platform to have? Whatever your idea is, focus on it.
After your startup gains some popularity, you can always expand. However, don’t stray away from your core vision. For example, Airbnb now offers additional things for travelers like activities and trips guided by local hosts, but that corresponds with the initial idea of the project.
The travel industry has other Airbnb-like startups. So, it may be hard to find a unique selling point right away. In case you can’t determine one on the go, try focusing on one important thing you aim to provide customers with you’re the help of your project rather than trying to beat every feature you like about Airbnb at once.
Understand Who Your Customers Are & Solve Their Problems
Knowing your target demographic well enough and always endeavoring to address their issues will go a long way in helping you to launch a powerful alternative to Airbnb. So far, millennials have proven to be the ideal audience for this unicorn startup, and as an entrepreneur, you need to take it into account. You want to target this demographic by availing a variety of features that will appeal to them.
While going about this stage, avoid doing many things at once. See, while you might think that a wholesome approach is sure to get you a more extensive customer demographic, this notion can’t be further from the truth. Ask any successful investors, and you will learn that it is always preferable to have one-hundred users who love your product than one-million people who are passive about it.
As far as addressing customer issues goes, it is best to borrow a leaf from Airbnb. This company is always going out of its way to streamline the interactions between its clients and hosts. Apart from that, it helps to understand the intricacies of living spaces, no matter how long or short stays you plan to offer. After all, the point is to make your offerings feel like home to the users.
All told, the bottom line here is, identify your target demographic, discover their preferences, and take necessary action.
Personalize Your User Interface
Personalization is all about making the user feel like a product is specifically designed to meet their needs and wants. Many Airbnb competitors have since discovered this trick and are endeavoring to offer applications with layouts, fonts, options, and other features that appeal to their customers.
When going about this stage, it makes sense to stick to the conventional approaches. For instance, you do not want to adopt a left-handed layout since only about 10% of the population are left-handed. Instead, you can consider allowing users to shift the location of an action to an area of the screen that they find to be comfortable.
Moreover, you do not want to autoplay videos of homes and other rentals as soon as someone gets on the application. Instead, it is more sensible to provide an on/off toggle in the application’s settings to allow users to decide what will work best for them.
Some other things to consider when it comes to personalizing the user interface include:
- Sounds;
- Dark mode;
- Memorable app icon;
- Ratings and feedback;
- Notifications;
- Gestures.
Summary
These are the three sure stages to follow if you are to beat the countless Airbnb-like websites and ultimately become the number alternative to this unicorn startup. On top of that, you can incorporate the latest technology trends while sticking to the guiding vision for your venture. After all, for your app to be a success, you need more than proven strategies and money, especially in this age, when the greater good seems to matter a lot. And if nothing else, work with a reliable app development service provider.
