We once called Airbnb as ‘eBay for Vacation Rentals’, as its business model aligned so much with eBay’s. Both follow a ‘peer-to-peer marketplace model’, except eBay uses it for selling stuff while Airbnb is into rentals. Airbnb connects its peers and lets them make money renting their houses to other peers on the network.
Today, Airbnb has become a role model in itself and explained how one can tweak the existing business models to make the most out of any startup idea. You don’t always have to come up with entirely new concepts to break the market. Sometimes, even the small inspirations can give birth to new and more profitable market segments, which Airbnb already proved with its inspiration from eBay’s peer-to-peer selling business model.
Airbnb for X is one similar concept that encourages entrepreneurs to come up with new innovative ideas aligned with the same peer-peer rental marketplace model that Airbnb follows. This is not a new concept. We have seen many new startups coming afterward on the same model and yet grabbing a fair share in the market already ruled by Airbnb.
What is Airbnb for X business model?
Airbnb’s peer-to-peer rental marketplace model connects two types of peers on the platform:
- Peer as a customer: A user on the platform looking for services. For example, a vacation house to rent.
- Peer as a service provider: A verified user offering services to other peers on the platform. For example, putting own house on rent.
The core Airbnb for x business model is about cultivating a shared economy among their peers and letting them find their respective value propositions. Apart from service agreements, the platform manages to attract both types of users by offering targeted value propositions to each. Although the marketplace acts merely as a transaction facilitator, it must attract stakeholders from both the ends. Unless someone is ready to rent his or her product or service, the platform cannot proceed to serve the other kind of peers.
How Airbnb make money?
A platform like Airbnb can make money charging commissions and transaction fee from both types of users:
- Commission from the service providers: A percentage cut from the service provider on each successful transaction done by the customers for them.
- Transaction fee from the Guests: A percentage from the customers on each transaction done by them to book the service.
- Other charges: The platform may include other charges to make additional money or manage overhead costs. Depending on the profit margin and type of service an Airbnb-like marketplace can easily accommodate the revenue sources such as cancellation charges, late fees, damage charges, etc.
One such example is rentlikeachampion.com
While many entrepreneurs would not dare to touch the property rental market where Airbnb is already a giant contender, they dared to enter the same market by moving into an even deeper section of the niche. They offer weekend house rentals to the students and people visiting college towns of America to attend a game.
Each year, hundreds of gaming events take place across the States and people move around to attend or watch these games. During these times, the weekend house rentals allow them to relish a comfortable home-stay and enjoy the games, instead of wandering around for expensive hotels. They have been extremely successful and are quite popular among college students.
How can we implement Airbnb’s business model to rent other things?
Rentlikeachampion is a perfect example of how you can play around with an existing market and choose a sub-niche that not only lets you avoid a direct face-to-face with the giants but also create an entirely new segment without competition. Property rental is a very small section of this market. The particular business model has the potential to rent almost everything that you can sell.
The core concept of Airbnb’s model is broad enough to accommodate a lot more than just vacation houses or weekend rentals. You can use any decent Airbnb clone script and build your very own customized peer-to-peer rental marketplace. With some small nips in the existing business model, you can customize your own Airbnb clone to accommodate unique features essential for renting many other types of products and services.
Based on the business opportunities in the local market or scale of the investment, the following is a list of startups you can undertake in 2019 on the same peer-to-peer rental marketplace model:
1.Event Venue Rental
We often need large spaces to organize events. Renting the same from event companies cost a lot. Alternatively, you can let individuals with spare spaces rent their lawns to the people who need them for conducting certain events. You can earn from the commissions and transactions fee given by both space owners and the customers.
2.Luxury Car Rental
Who does not love luxury cars? We wish if we can take one for a long trip or for a ball. Sadly, they are too expensive to not only purchase but also rent from traditional car rental companies. It could be a great idea to let people who have such cars rent occasionally to the people who would love to drive one for special events and occasions.
3.Boat Rental Business
People in certain places own personal boats for daily use. Let people who have boats in these prominent destinations, rent to the tourists, and make some extra cash out of their otherwise personal boats. You can extend the same business model to rent cruise ships, as well.
4.Electrical Appliances Rental
We often need electrical appliances do undertake certain projects. For example, electric saw, vacuum cleaner, milling machine, tiles cleaners, etc. The machines are generally too costly for individuals who use them occasionally. Let the professionals who have these machines rent the same to individuals who need them occasionally.
5.Construction Supply Rental
Construction companies or contractors often go out of work in non-peak seasons, leaving their machinery and equipment idle in the warehouse. It’s better to let them rent the same to other contractors who need them now.
6.Storage Space Rentals
People with big houses often have spare storage spaces in their basements or storerooms. You can create a platform to let these people rent their storage spaces to others, and make some extra money.
7.Co-working Space Rental
You don’t have to as big as WeeWork to start a co-working rental business. You can simply connect all the privately held co-working spaces in your area with freelancers and small startups on your platform. You can become a co-working space business without even owning a single property of your own.
8.Pickup Truck Rentals
People often use pickup trucks on road trips and transporting stuff from one place to another. People, who don’t have one, either borrow from someone they know or rent it. Offering a dedicated platform to rent pick-up trucks could be a profitable idea.
9. Camping Supplies Rental
Camping is an occasional activity. People often end up spending too much on buying the supplies they don’t even use after the camp. For example, sleeping bags, camper van, portable gas stoves, etc. If you can build a platform to connect people or businesses with these supplies to the people who need them for a trip, you could tap on a profitable niche.
10.Fishing Equipment Rental
There are people who love fishing and often go out for fishing trips. These people keep fishing equipment and supplies with them. However, there are also the people who go out just occasionally, and buying the supplies might not be a good idea for them. You can connect such people and make money.
Some Airbnb For X Business Ideas for Your Startup
There is no shortage of products, supplies, and services a peer can rent other peers. The following are some more ideas you can explore for your startup.
- Furniture Rental Business
- Baby Accessories Rental
- Gym Equipment Rentals
- Photography Supplies Rental
- Musical Instrument Rental
- Ski Supplies Rental
- Luxury Accessories Rental
- Cabin Rental Business
- Cleaning Supplies Rental
- Chartered Plane Rentals
- Medical Supplies Rental
- Vanity Vans Rental
Starting an Airbnb for X Business is not a tough job. It doesn’t demand any investments in in-house products, properties, or supplies. You just have to build a platform that can connect people so that they can share with each other.
So how much does it cost to make an app like Airbnb? Not much if you use an Airbnb clone. A decent Airbnb clone script with a website, mobile apps, and admin panel would not cost more than $1500-2000. Contrastingly, if you go for building the same platform from scratch, the overall expense would cross $100,000. There are ready-made scripts in the market that offer inherent highlights of Airbnb. You can test and use any of them to build your platform.
The peer-to-peer or C2C renting model is not a new concept. People have been lending supplies, properties, and services to each other for quite a while. You simply need to assemble an online alternative of the equivalent undertaking and offer some extra advantages to draw as many users to the platform.
Author By-line: Jessica Bruce
I am a professional blogger, guest writer, Influencer & an eCommerce expert. Currently associated with ShopyGen as a content marketing strategist. I also report on the latest happenings and trends associated with the eCommerce industry.
Follow me on Twitter @Jessicabruc (https://twitter.com/Jessicabruc)
