How Much Does It Cost to Build a Rental Marketplace Like Airbnb

Airbnb ranks as one of the most visited travel and tourism websites in the world, and not without reason. Since its launch in 2007, Airbnb has truly transformed the hospitality industry, helping connect hosts and guests worldwide.

Today, it boasts more than 8 million active listings and more than 5 million hosts worldwide, with a two-sided network of more than 200 million guests who have booked more than 495 million stays.

Airbnb has made it possible for people to let others use their properties, allowing travelers to enjoy different types of accommodations that do not resemble traditional hotels. This not only expands housing options, but also builds relationships between travelers and local communities.

By continuing to grow and respond to market demand, Airbnb has become a mainstay in the travel space and shows no signs of slowing down. In this regard, strong growth and user engagement make Airbnb a leader in redefining how people travel.

In this article, we are going to discuss how this major lodging rental website stands out from the rest and tell you in detail how to build a website like Airbnb.

Airbnb overview: Marketplace structure and history

Unique marketplace structure

Airbnb remains one of the most influential platforms in the global travel and tourism industry thanks to its advanced and highly scalable marketplace model.

While Airbnb shares core booking functionalities with other travel platforms, its structure goes far beyond traditional hotel-based systems. The platform enables hosts to offer unique, often personalized accommodations, while communication and transactions are securely mediated through Airbnb rather than happening directly between the parties.

Airbnb’s marketplace operates with three key participant groups:

1. Travelers (guests)

Travelers use Airbnb to find short-term accommodations that offer more variety and character than standard hotels. Guests benefit from:

• Millions of diverse listings, from private rooms to entire homes and unique stays;
• Transparent pricing and improved fee breakdowns;
• AI-powered search, recommendations, and trip categories;
• Secure, platform-mediated messaging with hosts.

Airbnb emphasizes personalization, safety, and convenience, making it an attractive option for modern travelers.

2. Hosts

Hosts include individual homeowners, property managers, and professional operators who list their spaces on the platform. Since 2025, hosts have access to:

• Full control over pricing, availability, booking rules, and calendar management;
• Automated tools such as smart pricing, instant booking controls, and message templates;
• Improved verification systems and listing quality reviews;
• Airbnb’s secure communication tools (personal contact details remain hidden until booking).

Airbnb positions hosts as hospitality providers and equips them with enhanced tools to manage guest experiences efficiently.

3. Platform administrators (Airbnb operators)

Administrators represent Airbnb’s operational and technological infrastructure rather than individual moderators. Their responsibilities now include:

• Automated guest and host identity verification using machine learning and ID checks;
• AI-driven content moderation of listings, profiles, and messages;
• Secure payment processing and fraud prevention;
• Policy enforcement, dispute resolution, and trust/safety oversight;
• Ensuring all communication and transactions occur within the platform.

This system helps maintain reliability, safety, and compliance while preserving the peer-to-peer nature of Airbnb’s marketplace.

Airbnb continues to stand out through its hybrid model: a peer-to-peer hospitality marketplace supported by a highly regulated, secure, and AI-driven platform infrastructure.

History of Airbnb

The story of Airbnb starts in August 2008. Two designers from San Francisco, California, Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, were on a tight budget. In order to make money to pay for their accommodation, they came up with the idea of renting out their living room in a bed and breakfast format. There were three airbeds for the guests.

When the designers received money for their accommodation, they started looking for investors to support their startup idea. Brian and Joe developed a simple website and posted their living room for rent there. Shortly, they improved and expanded the platform for use by other hosts and implemented additional functionality:

• Sign-up/login process;
• An option to be a traveler or host;
• An option to monitor new listings.

The worldwide known Ruby on Rails marketplace was initially named “AirBed and Breakfast.” As mentioned earlier, the primary core platform idea was to list couches and airbeds. In its early days, the website was quite similar to a paid version of the popular CouchSurfing service.

Starting as a room booking platform, Airbnb is now one of the world’s major accommodation rental marketplaces.

Airbnb main competitors

Having been on the market for a long time, Airbnb gained not only a good reputation but also strong competition. Airbnb’s main competitors have their own pros and cons, but it is worth studying the major ones to see how Airbnb stays afloat in the market.

Booking

Key information:

• Founded in 1996;
• 28 million accommodation listings;
• Approximately 6.6 million homes;
• Operates in over 228 countries.

A startup situated in Amsterdam, Booking.com has evolved beyond its initial focus on hotel accommodations. It has expanded its offerings to include flights, rental cars, attractions, airport taxis, and bundled flight and hotel deals. While it initially concentrated on hotel accommodations, the platform has diversified its portfolio by investing in the growth of vacation rentals.

Source: Booking.com

How does Booking.com compare to Airbnb?

Both platforms carved out niches in the travel industry, each with its distinctive focus. Airbnb is renowned for empowering homeowners to profit by listing spare rooms or properties, while Booking.com remains primarily geared toward reserving hotel rooms.

Market-wise, Airbnb holds an advantage in the United States, whereas Booking.com dominates the European market. Booking.com's services span the entire spectrum of travel and vacation, encompassing hotels, flights, and car rentals, whereas Airbnb concentrates predominantly on vacation rentals.

Although Booking.com is venturing into the vacation rental business with its homestay option, its ability to compete with Airbnb in this category remains uncertain and will unfold over time.

Tripadvisor

Key information:

• Founded in 2000;
• Serves 460 million travelers monthly;
• Has 859+ million reviews;
• Lists 8.6 million options across 49 countries and 28 languages.

As the foremost online travel advisor, Tripadvisor stands out for its extensive ratings and reviews covering the travel industry, accommodations, activities, and entertainment. It offers hotels, vacation rentals, things to do, restaurants, travel forums, flights, cruises, and more.

Source: TripAdvisor

How does Tripadvisor compete with Airbnb?

Tripadvisor is a full-fledged online travel agency (OTA) competing with hotels rather than just vacation rentals. Despite this, vacation rentals remain prominently visible on the homepage menu. Tripadvisor automatically publishes listings on various brand pages, enhancing exposure. The platform awards distinctive badges for exceptional services or accommodations, recognized as prestigious within the community.

Vrbo

Key information:

• Founded in 1995;
• Over 2 million listings;
• Operates in 190+ countries.

As Airbnb's primary competitor, Vrbo is a key platform to consider for your vacation rental business, following closely behind Airbnb.

Vrbo, which stands for "vacation rentals by owner," began as an independent company in 1995. It became part of HomeAway in 2006 and was later acquired by the vacation industry giant Expedia Group in 2015.

Source: Vrbo

As a component of the Expedia Group, Vrbo provides listers with access to the entire Expedia network. When you list your property on Vrbo, it automatically becomes visible on Expedia. This expands your reach from the 17.5 million unique monthly visitors on Vrbo to the massive audience of 730 million monthly unique visitors on the Expedia Group.

How does Vrbo compare to Airbnb?

As main competitors, Airbnb and Vrbo share numerous similarities. Both are vacation rental platforms where property owners directly list their accommodations. They offer diverse lodging options, including beach houses, mountain cabins, treehouses, villas, and boats.

These platforms also provide similar features, allowing both private and commercial property owners to rent their spaces, conduct transactions, earn commissions from bookings, and recognize hosts for outstanding service.

A notable distinction between Airbnb and Vrbo lies in the types of rentals offered. Vrbo exclusively presents entire properties for rent: entire apartments, houses, villas, or condominiums. In contrast, Airbnb offers the option for house shares, where guests may share living spaces. Due to this difference, Vrbo tends to attract larger and more upscale rental properties, catering particularly to families, groups of friends, and travelers with higher budgets.

Expedia

Key information:

• Founded in 1996;
• Over 3.5 million lodgings;
• Operates in more than 70 countries.

Being a well-established online travel agency (OTA), Expedia provides comprehensive vacation services, covering flights, car rentals, accommodations, activities, cruises, and bundled packages.

Source: Expedia

While Expedia is not typically top-of-mind for vacation rentals, they do offer this option through property type filters on their website and partnerships with various rental providers. The Expedia Group, owns several travel-related brands, including Expedia, Vrbo, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, and CarRentals.com.

How do Expedia and Airbnb compare?

Expedia's diverse range of services gives it a broader audience compared to Airbnb. Historically, Expedia has primarily focused on hotels, similar to Booking.com, while Airbnb concentrates on short-term rentals.

This distinction suggests that vacation rentals might face less competition on Expedia than on Airbnb. However, it also implies that individuals may not specifically seek vacation rentals on the Expedia platform.

Airbnb operates all its services under the Airbnb brand, fostering a unified identity. In contrast, Expedia is a conglomerate managing its subsidiaries under their original brand names. As Airbnb continues to grow, it may pose competition to Expedia's subsidiaries with weaker brand recognition.

Despite these dynamics, both Expedia and Airbnb are prominent and recognizable brands within the vacation industry, each maintaining its distinct position and appeal.

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Reasons why people prefer Airbnb over hotel booking sites

Airbnb continues to stand out in the travel market because it offers travelers something hotel platforms can’t fully match: more flexibility, more character, and more everyday comfort.

• Better value for longer stays. Renting an entire home or apartment is often more cost-effective than hotel rooms, especially for families and groups.
• Unique accommodations. From treehouses and cabins to villas and lofts, Airbnb offers distinctive stays beyond traditional hotel inventory.
• Authentic local experience. Hosts often share personal recommendations that help guests explore destinations like locals.
• More space and home-like comfort. Separate rooms, living areas, full kitchens, and laundry make extended stays easier and more comfortable.
• Real neighborhoods. Airbnb properties are located in residential areas, giving travelers a chance to experience true local life.
• Pet-friendly options. Many listings allow pets, making travel easier for people with animals.

These advantages explain why Airbnb remains a top choice for modern travelers looking for comfort, character, and a more personal travel experience.

Airbnb’s business model

Airbnb works as a marketplace: it connects people who want to rent out their property with travelers looking for a place to stay. This Airbnb business model allows the platform to earn money by collecting fees on each booking. Here’s how Airbnb works in simple terms:

• Host-only fee. In most cases, the host pays about 15% of the booking subtotal, which is automatically deducted from their payout.
• Split-fee (less common). In some cases, the fee is shared: the host pays around 3%, and the guest pays a separate service fee shown at checkout.
• VAT. In certain countries, VAT is added to Airbnb’s service fees when required by law.
• Damage protection. Airbnb provides coverage for eligible property damage, giving hosts more security and confidence.

This system allows Airbnb to earn revenue from each stay while remaining a convenient and trusted platform for both hosts and travelers.

Related reading: Best Monetization Practices to Build a Successful Online Marketplace

5-step guide on how to build a website like Airbnb

There are several aspects worth noting to develop a solid Airbnb competitor. Thus, let’s shift the focus from theory to more practical tips. This way, you’ll know exactly which aspects are crucial for future success.

1. Choose the solution type

In fact, you can build such a platform with the help of two options:

• Ready-made solution;
• Custom development.

Both options have their benefits and drawbacks that depend on users’ needs and preferences. Let’s take a quick look and define when and why you need to use each option to understand how to start a website like Airbnb.

Ready-made solution overview

If you’re looking to start a product in a matter of weeks at an affordable price, a ready-made template is a pretty good choice. By the way, you can choose either a non-customizable or a customizable template that will give more space for customization. However, you will need to scale the product sooner or later.

Considering the most popular solutions, we recommend you pay attention to Sharetribe, RocketBazaar, Yo!Kart, CS-Cart, and Shopify. These platforms offer a wide range of functionality, so you can choose different solution options at any price while deciding how to create an Airbnb inspired website. Your marketplace information will be stored on the servers along with thousands of other websites.

Custom development from scratch overview

In case you want to have specific business logic and be user-oriented to the maximum degree, online marketplace development will work best for you.

This approach is rather time- and cost-consuming, but as a result, you will get a fully functional web application created by a professional software development team. They will take into account all your preferences and business requirements to bring your ideas to life.

Summing up the comparison, let’s outline the most important aspects to consider when choosing between a ready-made solution and a custom-developed project.

You may also like: Building a Future-Ready Marketplace with MACH Architecture

2. Choose the technology stack to build a website like Airbnb

Let’s now discuss how to build your rental marketplace platform by choosing custom software development services and the Airbnb technology stack.

The technology stack is crucial for a project development process. Firstly, it greatly affects the budget because every tool has its own degree of complexity. Thus, the rates will significantly differ. Secondly, it makes a huge difference in product scalability and the time required for development.

Alongside this, you should keep in mind that the modern Airbnb marketplace platform utilizes a pretty powerful technology stack and a large number of tools. In terms of the marketplace minimum viable product (MVP), you will not need that full range of instruments for the frontend and backend. Most likely, you will use far fewer engines, and they may be completely different.

You can use the following technology stack to develop a website like Airbnb:

• Frontend development — JavaScript (React, Vue.js), HTML5, CSS3;
• Backend development — Ruby, Strapi, Node.js, Ruby on Rails, Nest.js;
• Automation frameworks — RSpec, Capybara;
• Databases — Redis, Firebase, MySQL, MongoDB;
• Infrastructure — AWS, Digital Ocean, Heroku;
• Web application server — Puma.

As you can see, we offer Ruby on Rails as the main application framework for building an Airbnb-like website. It will assist you in developing your MVP website rapidly and affordably, and Rails will also make your online marketplace platform scalable, productive, and protected.

As for the Airbnb platform, even though it implements a vast technology stack, it still runs on the RoR framework. Therefore, it may be a good idea to build a room booking site like Airbnb with Ruby on Rails as well.

Recommended reading: How Much Does It Cost to Build an Online Marketplace in 2026?

3. Define the functionality required for a rental marketplace

When you create a website like Airbnb, the features and functionality you include play a pivotal role. Thus, make sure you include not only the basic ones but also those that will ease the usage process for both travellers and hosts.

Here are the core features required for an online marketplace like Airbnb:

Authorization and roles

The platform users are divided into travelers and hosts. The latter publish their accommodation and specify the details. Guests can see all the available options, comprehensive information, and book real estate listed or contact the owner. The roles are typical for a marketplace like Airbnb.

Moreover, the authentication feature allows suppliers and consumers to change their roles at any time. For example, today, you have an empty villa for rent; you will probably be making a business trip to another city and searching for accommodation.

Personal profile data

Users should have an opportunity to modify their settings smoothly and conveniently. For instance, they may want to adjust their account settings like e-mail, password, phone number, etc. This feature builds confidence between the customers and your Ruby on Rails marketplace.

Listing

Both platform sides fill in the most useful data. Sellers specify the details about the accommodation provided, including locations, types, and prices. So, how much does it cost to stay in a particular place? A traveller will know from the data listed by a host.

Online maps

This function allows customers to navigate the local area and find the most relevant lodging. Also, it provides a sorting system to search around the area and get a quick property preview with the name, price, and a couple of photos.

Also, the algorithm shows you the most popular accommodations based on users’ views and visits. This feature is widely used on platforms like Airbnb.

Source: Airbnb

Messaging

When considering the option of making a website like Airbnb, you should not avoid such a meaningful feature like messaging. It is crucial as it allows travellers to discuss any details with the hosts, like arrival time, delays, number of guests, etc.

Booking management system

This is one of the essential features of Airbnb. When travellers search for accommodation, they want to book it for a particular date. This way, a homeowner receives a notification and decides whether to confirm or decline the booking. It makes the marketplace more flexible compared to Booking.com for the following reasons:

• Hosts have the opportunity to solve any issues before confirming a booking;
• In case it is impossible to provide lodging, homeowners may decline a request.

Booking system development may be adjusted for a particular time when a guest is flexible on travel time.

Recommended reading: How We Delivered MVP for PlanMyKids - Kids Activities Marketplace (Case Study)

Notification system

Push notifications allow both guests and hosts to reach a certain web page as fast as possible. It works pretty simply: you get a notification, click on it, and immediately shift to a certain page. This way, it greatly boosts user experience on an Airbnb-like marketplace and accelerates many processes.

It is pretty convenient, isn’t it? This feature will enable the users (both travellers and hosts) of your online marketplace to always stay up-to-date.

Online payments

Airbnb architecture allows booking marketplace travellers and hosts to send and accept payments for their services. The development of online payment systems should be based on intuitive design and ensure security.

Source: Airbnb

Cancellation options

If the traveler’s plans change, the host may set their conditions for booking cancellation. It is helpful to improve guests’ and hosts’ experience with using a marketplace like Airbnb.

Flexible dates

With more people working remotely, a flexible search for accommodation has become more relevant. Travellers can choose where to spend their weekends or off-peak days. At Airbnb, the date range expands up to 12 months. Brian Chesky noted that the Airbnb button “I’m flexible” was used 500 million times.

Source: Airbnb

Translation engine

Airbnb has introduced a translation of descriptions and reviews into over 60 languages. You don’t need to click on translation buttons as the function works automatically. Besides, the engine learns from new content, improving over time.

Community support

For an online marketplace like Airbnb, it’s crucial to have powerful community support. This feature provides both hosts and travellers with 24/7 access to support services that solve the problems of platform users.

When planning how to start a website like Airbnb, apart from general functionality, you need to consider the features of each platform side. Let’s take a brief look at the functionality necessary for hosts and guests of an Airbnb booking system.

Airbnb is continuously working on improvements for the platform. The majority of innovations and improvements Airbnb implements are inspired by real users. Brian Chesky, as well as other Airbnb team members, regularly ask people and listen to their audience on social media and other platforms.

4. Follow common marketplace design principles

You may be wondering how to make an Airbnb clone website in terms of design. Does it have to be attractive and high-quality? The reason for this question is that many people believe that while building a website like Airbnb, you should put the conversion and functionality aspects first.

However, the first thing you see when visiting the site is Airbnb web design often considered iconic and recognizable. This way, your initial impression and, consequently, further purchases completely depend on this crucial aspect.

Source: Medium

“The design has always been important at Airbnb – it was founded by designers, and the first guests came to a design conference in San Francisco. Some of the biggest changes have come from scaling and adapting to the momentum.”
- Alex Schleifer, former Airbnb Vice President of Design

Airbnb web design has two key principles: designing for trust and designing for everyone. Thus, in April 2016, Airbnb introduced an updated app design following these two principles. The platform development team made everything to match people to houses, neighborhoods, and experiences that will help them live like a local.

Find out more: How UX Design Solves Online Marketplace Issues

5. Build a rental marketplace minimum viable product

We recommend you to build a marketplace MVP first instead of creating a fully functional product at once. The MVP development services will help you save time and money. Also, you will get valuable feedback from investors (if any) and a target audience that will help you validate your idea.

You need to include only the primary functionality during marketplace MVP development. Over time, you will expand the platform, implementing add-ons and optional features.

Here is the primary functionality that should be implemented on an MVP web development solution like Airbnb:

• Sign up/sign in. It allows users (both guests and hosts) to create an account where they can manage personal data.
• Guest and host roles. You need to diversify the platform roles to provide travelers with the ability to search for and book accommodation and allow homeowners to list their property and specify the required details.
• Search option. It helps travelers find relevant lodging and experiences. This feature is widely used when making a website like Airbnb.
• Filters. This way, travelers can clearly define their request by choosing a certain real estate type, price, availability, inner facilities, amenities, number of rooms, beds, bathrooms, etc.
• Property page. It should contain a full and comprehensive description including facilities, amenities, number of beds, bathrooms, and accommodation type. Also, you need to make the ‘Contact Host’ button as vivid as possible so that users do not find it difficult to book accommodation on websites like Airbnb.
• A host contact form. When users click on a CTA button, provide them with a form that stands for the final user journey stage. It should require travelers to fill in important information and send an email to a host. This way, suppliers will receive a notification and respond to consumers in any possible way.
• Communication channels. It would be a good idea to add an online chat where users can communicate and discuss the details. Marketplace development may also include a call function for immediate communication.
• Cancellation options. Plans may change, so this function allows a guest or a host to cancel the booking if necessary. Airbnb’s business model includes the conditions on which cancellation is made

The above-mentioned core features can help you estimate how much it may cost you to build a website like Airbnb.

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Core marketplace design guidelines

Now, let’s take a look at the most important principles in Airbnb website design that will help you create an attractive web solution for your accommodation rental marketplace platform like Airbnb.

Simple message

According to one of the most crucial ecommerce website design principles, the message you deliver should always be clear to your potential users. First of all, implement a simple and intuitive design that will help customers understand what products and services are available. Also, emphasize the strong points of your website that make it stand out from the market rivals.

Intuitive navigation

Navigation and user journey are the foundation stones of usability in the Airbnb website design. The easier it is to buy products, the more sales are generated. Build a simple-to-understand and efficient user flow that will allow your target audience to find and purchase the desired accommodation in a few steps.

Trust level

You should avoid tons of information on the webpage. Otherwise, the users will feel overwhelmed and will likely leave your marketplace without any purchase. Create trustworthy photos of products, give a full item description, and implement a feature that allows customers to leave comments or reviews for other potential guests.

Below, you can see the design that Codica created for search and scheduling functions in an Airbnb-like rental app. A lot has been done to deliver a trustworthy platform, and design plays a crucial role in this regard.

For this platform, we used Semantic UI to build a visually appealing UI design for the solution. Thus, thanks to the intuitive user flow and superior UI/UX design, the platform is easy to use and clear, boosting the user experience and affirming that it is the design that plays a huge role in such cases.

A website like Airbnb development cost

To make sure you are ready for your platform development and launch, we have prepared an approximate cost of a peer-to-peer marketplace like Airbnb.

Please bear in mind that the final price of such a platform depends heavily on such factors:

• The functionality you wish to have on your rental marketplace platform;
• The development approach you choose;
• The location, and, consequently, the rates of your development company.

Taking into account all the functionality discussed above, the average cost of a rental housing website is as follows:

To sum up, we should mention that the final price can vary, and only your software development partner will be able to provide you with an exact quote.

However, you can count on the quoted numbers if you want to know how much it costs to create a good website for a vacation rental with a development company located in Eastern Europe.

Codica’s expertise in developing Airbnb-like solutions

Creating a platform similar to Airbnb requires a feature-rich marketplace, intuitive UX, fast performance, and a strong technical foundation.

At Codica, we’ve already delivered solutions that reflect the core functionality of Airbnb-style platforms.

One of our key examples is a custom real estate SaaS platform built for the Israeli market: a complex, high-performance system that demonstrates our ability to create advanced listing and booking-oriented products.

The platform allows property owners to publish and manage listings, upload images and 3D virtual tours, and update property details whenever needed. Users can browse accommodations by type, location, price, amenities, and number of rooms, explore listings through interactive tours, and contact homeowners directly through built-in communication tools.

All of this closely matches the mechanics behind Airbnb-like marketplaces. To bring this product to life, Codica delivered:

• A fast-loading, responsive SaaS platform optimized for both desktop and mobile devices.
• Advanced listing management enables homeowners to add detailed property information, photos, and 3D tours.
• Intuitive search and filtering, supported by map integration and neighborhood insights.
• Role-based user and admin accounts for full control over listings and platform content.
• A bilingual experience (English + Hebrew) with full RTL/LTR support.
• A modern, scalable architecture using Ruby on Rails, React, Gatsby, PostgreSQL, and AWS.

This project showcases our expertise in building platforms with Airbnb-like logic: rich media listings, seamless property exploration, real-time interaction between owners and users, and a smooth, high-performance UI.

If you're planning to build a rental marketplace, a booking platform, or any product inspired by Airbnb’s model, Codica has the technical experience and domain knowledge to bring your idea to market quickly and effectively.

Our product discovery services can help you validate the concept, define the right features, estimate costs accurately, and shape a development strategy before you start building, saving time, budget, and reducing risks.

Final words

Although it’s a time- and cost-consuming process to create a marketplace website like Airbnb, it is a completely sizeable task. However, you need to keep in mind that the features and tools that Airbnb uses may somehow differ from yours because of different implementation aspects. Thus, follow the above-mentioned principles and techniques and customize your product to make it unique.

In this regard, if you are looking for a team that can help you create a high-quality and money-making accommodation rental marketplace, we've got you covered. The Codica team has built multiple marketplace websites. We know exactly how to build a website like Airbnb, and we will gladly help you create yours. Feel free to check out our portfolio or contact us to discuss your project.