How to Build a Rental Marketplace: Ultimate Guide

Think about it: a traveler booking a beachfront villa for the weekend, a freelancer renting a co-working space for the day, or a filmmaker securing high-end camera gear - all in a matter of minutes, all in one place. Overall, rental marketplaces have disrupted the way people access homes, vehicles, and equipment, making ownership optional rather than necessary.

People are looking for flexibility, companies are looking for cost-effective solutions, and peer-to-peer sharing is on the rise. This has created a huge opportunity for many new rental marketplaces to emerge and thrive.

But how do you create a platform that stands out from the competition? In our article-guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know on how to turn your marketplace idea into a successful business.

What are rental marketplaces?

Renting is no longer just an alternative to buying - it's a lifestyle choice. More and more, people are choosing flexibility over ownership, whether that means booking a vacation home, renting a car for a long weekend, or accessing high-end camera gear for a project without committing to purchase. Online rental marketplaces make it easier than ever to connect people with what they are looking for, when they need it.

The numbers are self-evident. As of 2025, the average monthly rent in the United States was $2,000, making long-term housing more expensive than ever. In the meantime, websites like Booking.com and Airbnb handle millions of short-term rentals every day, demonstrating how much people are enjoying the flexibility of renting, whether for lifestyle, convenience, or vacation.

Success stories of rental marketplaces

Rental marketplaces totally changed the way people find places to stay, experiences to enjoy, and travel services. Some of the biggest companies in the industry got their start as small ideas but grew into billion-dollar platforms by using technology, building user trust, and offering a simple booking experience.

Let's check out 3 big names - Airbnb, TripAdvisor and Booking.com, as well as how they've changed the rental marketplace.

Airbnb

Founded: 2008

Founders: Brian Chesky & Joe Gebbia

Market Capitalization: $113B+

Revenue Model: Transaction fees from hosts & guests

Source: Airbnb

It is arguably the most revolutionary rental marketplace the world has ever seen. What started as two guys renting out air mattresses in an apartment would soon morph into a global hospitality revolution.

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia founded Airbnb in 2008: it was not an immediate success. However, they saw an opportunity in short-term rentals that traditional hotels could not offer. Rather than fight the big hotel chains, they were unique in building a peer-to-peer platform that allowed anyone to list and rent a space.

Despite early skepticism, Airbnb began to grow exponentially by using trust-building features like verified reviews, host guarantees, and seamless mobile booking. Today, Airbnb operates in more than 190 countries, offering everything from beachfront villas to unique accommodations like treehouses and castles.

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

TripAdvisor

Founded: 2000

Founders: Langley Steinert & Steve Kaufer

Active monthly users: 490M+

Revenue model: Advertising, affiliate partnerships

Source: TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor was created with the bold idea of offering genuine, user-generated reviews for travelers. But in the early years, the company was struggling financially. They were spending almost $70,000 a month just to keep things going.

But the real shake-up came in 2012 when they linked up with Facebook through the Friend of a Friend feature. This lets users see reviews from their friends and family first, which made them more likely to trust the reviews and use the site more. As a result, TripAdvisor became super popular and became a key part of millions of travelers worldwide.

Now, most of its money comes from advertising and commissions when it sends users directly to the hotels' and airlines' websites. With almost half a billion monthly users, TripAdvisor has become one of the most powerful forces in online rentals and traveling.

Booking.com

Founded: 1996

Founder: Geert-Jan Bruinsma

Monthly visitors: 500M+

Revenue model: Transaction-based commission

Source: Booking.com

Booking.com started with the simplest idea - how to book hotels online more efficiently. The founder, Geert-Jan Bruinsma, noticed that whenever he traveled, he just couldn't seem to avoid being frustrated when booking accommodations. There wasn't one single platform that offered a comprehensive list of all hotels, including real-time pricing and availability.

What made Booking.com stand out from the crowd was its pricing strategy. While competitors were charging upwards of 35% commission on hotels, commissions through Booking.com remained very low at 10-12%, making the website a very lucrative option for property owners. This made it super popular right away, helping it grow into one of the biggest travel marketplaces in the world. Now, it lists over 28 million properties in more than 220 countries. It's still a leader in the rental industry because it's so easy to use and competitive.

8 key features for your future rental marketplace

Think of the last time you booked a place to stay or rented something online - what made that experience seamless and stress-free? Well, it's not all about the listings; a great rental marketplace is all about making this process seamless for both renters and owners.

From locating the perfect place in a matter of seconds to securing payments and easing communication, it's about packing in the right features that make any marketplace a go-to destination.

Let's take a closer look at what sets your rental marketplace apart:

1. Quick sign-up & user roles. Reduce friction and boost conversions by making onboarding as painless as possible through email, phone number, or social logins. Toggle capabilities for role switching between renters and property owners mean that renters and property owners can easily navigate both roles in one account and not have to register for an account for each.

2. User profiles that establish trust. Detailed user profiles, including verification of their identity, ways of contact, and rental history, help build credibility and minimize the chances of fraud. Similarly, a profile rating system assists users in making informed decisions regarding the choice of renters or property owners based on their past transactions.

3. Advanced search & smart filters. A full-featured search would include dynamic filters, such as price range, property type, amenities, availability, among other filters, for users to navigate to the desired listings as quickly as possible. AI-powered search suggestions based on user behavior help further refine such results and enrich the booking experience.

4. Compelling & informative listings. Each listing should include high-quality images, accurate descriptions, transparent pricing, and an itemization of amenities to help renters make decisions more easily. Adding real-time calendars for availability and the possibility of instant booking makes decision-making even easier.

5. Seamless multi-language & translation support. Translation services automatically overcome even the language barrier across the world for property descriptions, reviews, and messages. Multi-currency pricing and the support of local payment methods make things easier to use for people from other parts of the world.

6. Secure & convenient online payments. A rental marketplace should integrate secure payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and local banking solutions for seamless transactions. Integrating escrow services and fraud prevention mechanisms will protect renters and property owners from financial risks.

7. In-app messaging for direct communication. An integrated messaging module that allows tenants and property owners to discuss rental terms, check-in details, and special requests without having to rely on third-party applications. Allowing file and image sharing within the chat will ensure important documents, such as the rental agreement or property instructions, are easily available.

8. Verified reviews & ratings for transparency. Accountability is secured through a two-way review system where renters and property owners can rate their experience after a completed transaction. Verified reviews, based on actual bookings, prevent fake feedback and help maintain the platform's credibility.

Also, you can consider adding Interactive maps for location-based browsing. Thus, users can explore properties in certain neighborhoods and see how close they are to landmarks, public transportation, and essential services. Distance-based filtering and heatmaps of popular rental areas enhance the property discovery experience.

Your ultimate 7-step guide to building a rental marketplace

Step 1: Discovery and planning

Before developing your rental platform, the project discovery phase is important to understand user needs, research the competition, and define solid goals.

During this phase, you’ll learn about pain points and develop solutions that add real value. You’ll get clickable prototypes, a priority features list, a clear technical stack and product architecture, time and cost estimates, a detailed product specification, and team composition recommendations to ensure efficient development. Codica's product discovery services will guide you through this strategic process so that your marketplace is built on a solid foundation and poised for success.

Step 2: UI/UX design

A natural and fluid design is important for a successful rental platform as it has a direct impact on user experience and conversion. Prioritizing UI/UX will allow users to move around the site comfortably, browse and search for appropriate listings, and complete bookings with ease.

Implementing AI-powered recommendations will enhance the user experience by making suggestions based on the user's browsing history and behavior, increasing the likelihood of a successful transaction. Codica's UI/UX design services focus on creating elegant, user-friendly interfaces that capture user engagement and satisfaction and make your rental marketplace stand out.

Step 3: Choosing the right software architecture

The success of your rental platform depends on choosing the right software architecture to operate at optimal efficiency and scalability.

MACH architecture vs. monolithic architecture

Choosing between a MACH or monolithic architecture is an important decision. While monolithic architectures are faster to develop initially, they become rigid and difficult to scale as your platform grows.

A MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless) architecture, on the other hand, enables flexibility through isolated feature development and faster updates. This design significantly improves performance and scalability, allowing your rental marketplace to handle heavy traffic and advanced transactions with ease.

Step 4: Technology stack selection

Selecting the right technology stack is important to creating a high-performance rental marketplace that is secure, scalable, and easy to use:

• Frontend.React, Vue.js, or Angular for dynamic and responsive user experiences.
• Backend.Node.js, Ruby on Rails to handle transactions and API connections.
• Database. PostgreSQL or MongoDB for secure and scalable data storage.
• Cloud hosting.AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for high uptime and performance.
• Payments. Stripe, PayPal, or Braintree for seamless, secure transactions.
• Security. SSL encryption, GDPR compliance, fraud prevention mechanisms.

By choosing proven, flexible technologies from the start, you can avoid costly migrations down the road and build a future-proof event marketplace that scales with your users' needs.

Step 5: Development process

Creating a high-performance rental marketplace means being quick and flexible. At Codica, we stick to agile development practices to do continuous testing, rapid iterations, and efficient delivery. With this method, we can use feedback quickly to optimize features and keep your platform aligned with user needs.

We work together with you every step of the way to make sure your rental marketplace is up and running smoothly from day one. Our agile methodology follows the highest standards of performance and scalability, thanks to smart and efficient actions at every step of the development process.

Step 6: Testing and quality assurance

A great user experience is key to the success of your rental portal. That's why quality assurance services and rigorous testing are essential before you go live. Here at Codica, we've got you covered with our thorough testing protocols.

We do everything from functional and usability testing to performance and security checks to make sure each feature is smooth sailing. Our quality assurance is customized to identify and fix potential problems early on to prevent risks after launch. We simulate real-world scenarios to make your rental platform secure, dependable, and convenient. With our full QA process, you can be sure your platform is top-notch when it's up and running, making your users happy and building trust.

Step 7: Launching the marketplace

The day your marketplace rental launch is finally here is the day when all your hard work pays off. At Codica, we make sure your launch is a success, and we do it in a way that's technical and user-friendly. We plan every detail meticulously, from system deployment to testing in the live environment, so everything is up and running on day one. We're always keeping an eye on performance metrics and user behavior so we can deal with any issues right away. And once it's out there, our support team is there 24/7 to keep things running smoothly and make sure it can grow with you. With Codica, your rental marketplace doesn't just go live - it thrives.

Read also: How Automation Testing Increases Execution Speed, Test Coverage, and Effectiveness

Rental marketplace business models to make money

One of the most important factors when launching a marketplace is the right monetization model. There are many ways for marketplaces to generate profit. Still, we will consider the most popular monetization models for rental ones.

Transaction fees: Airbnb

This is the most widely used online marketplace business model. It means that the user is charged for each transaction. The site takes a fixed fee or a percentage for its services when the customers pay the sellers.

The marketplace platform may impose a fee on the customers or suppliers. Another variant is the withdrawal of commission from both sides.

The parties may attend the site free of charge and pay only if they benefit from using the platform. Since the supplier only pays when his product is sold, they do not risk money. Still, the main issue with online platforms that use a commission model is providing sufficient benefits for both parties.

Advertising: TripAdvisor

This business model means that third-party advertisers pay for publishing ads on your real estate platform. The featured ads and advertising model can only be used as an extension of the primary model. Thus, it will become a great way to generate income. But don't overload the site with ads.

Featured listings: Zillow

This revenue model means merchants pay for their offerings to rank at the top of the search on the platform. Thus, they will be more visible to customers.

The main problem of this premium services model is how to turn free users into those who are ready to pay a fee. This rental marketplace business model should offer sufficient value for the user to be willing to pay for ancillary services.

What to choose?

The most popular monetization model for online marketplaces is a transaction fee. Yet, you don't need to limit your selection to any particular revenue model. You can combine various monetization models to receive more revenue from your customers and merchants. It depends on your specific niche.

Further reading: 10 Best Marketplace Monetization Strategies to Succeed

Ways to promote your rental marketplace

Indeed, the rental marketplace business can generate high revenues. But how do you drive users to your marketplace?

You can solve this problem by using some of the most common methods these days. They are the following:

• Email marketing. With emails, you can offer your target audience discounts on promotions or provide them with helpful information. It will encourage them to use your marketplace. But pay attention that email communication should be engaging and steady.
• Content marketing. Your website content is a perfect way to stay connected with your target group. To do it, create valuable content that improves your users' lives, solving their pain points.
• Affiliate marketing. You can try to build partnerships with complementary companies or collaborate with influencers. Thus, you will expand your audience.
• Social media advertising and more. Promoting your rental marketplace on social is a great way to drive more users. For example, highlight the significant benefits of using your marketplace and show how it works. The social media audience is vast, so you can benefit from this promotion strategy.

The right marketing strategy and a combination of the above approaches will help you achieve maximum success in promoting. Using them, you can significantly expand the number of potential customers.

Read also: An Online Marketplace Marketing Strategy That Works in 2025

Overview of the rental marketplace made by Codica

This web product is a world-first service for looking for long-term accommodation. This house rent website for expats was aimed to help people who move to Australia find a residence fast.

Our team created a profitable website according to the client’s needs. We started with MVP development. Thus, we had the ability to test the web product with early users. Moreover, our client could present the MVP version of the project to investors without spending too much money.

We made the process of finding the most suitable accommodation easy and fast using the search wizard. Also, we ensured high website performance. Below you can see a short video that shows how the website works in real life.

Now, let’s consider some features we implemented in this solution more thoroughly.

UX/UI (user experience/user interface) design

We created a visually appealing UI design for the MVP according to the brand's identity. The interface of the rental solution is convenient and easy to use. Thus, we boosted the user experience of the rental platform.

Complex search for expats

When customers point out their criteria, the app presents a local map. Using this map, renters can find available and relevant settlement options. Users can narrow the search results with filters or see the shortest way from a house to some destination.

Google Maps integration

In real-time mode, expats can see pop-up windows for accommodation variants on the local map. These windows demonstrate the primary lodging description with address, images, and price.

Attribute ranking algorithm

Our team created an attribute ranking algorithm. It enables us to generate the most suitable lodging for expats based on their specific needs. In general, this mechanism assists narrow the search results and offers the most accurate and right variant.

Search wizard

Search wizard enables expats to indicate all their wishes in a quiz with animation effects. When the wizard is submitted, customers can see the most relevant rental offers. Also, customers can download PDF reports which include specified attributes.

Google Distance Matrix API

The great feature of this rental platform is that expats can see the most exact routes. These are routes from chosen properties to certain destination points. For this, we used Google Distance Matrix API.

The technology stack we used to build a rental platform

Based on 10+ years of experience, Codica’s experts always choose the most suitable technology stack for each project. For building a rental platform for expats, we chose the following list:

• React. This Javascript framework helps us build robust and responsive web solutions.
• Redux. We use this JavaScript library for managing and centralizing the app state.
• ANTdesign. It is a powerful UI kit for great design.
• POSE (now Framer Motion). It is a simple and easy-to-use animation library for React.
• Firebase. It is Google's app development software. It allows developers to create iOS, Web, and Android apps. Firebase provides tools for reporting and fixing app crashes, tracking analytics, and so on.
• React Google Maps. React Google Maps provides access to the functionality of the Google Maps API. It also renders custom React components inside the map.
• React Geosuggest. It is a React autosuggest for the Google Maps API.
• CSS animations. It is an excellent library of cross-browser, ready-to-use animations for projects.

We also used integrations:

• Maps JS API. This integration helps build interactive, dynamic, highly customized maps and location experiences for your web solutions.
• Places API. The Places API is a service that brings information about locations with the help of HTTP requests.
• Geocoding API. It provides geocoding and reverse geocoding of addresses. It eases the search for destinations while working with geographic coordinates and names.
• Directions API. It is a web service that provides us with information about a route.
• Distance Matrix API. This tool helps fetch the distances between locations.

Have a rental business in mind?

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How much does it cost to build a rental marketplace?

But how much money do you need to create a rental marketplace? Taking into account all the functionality discussed above, the average cost of a rental housing website is as follows:

The price of $65,600 is relevant if you collaborate with a development agency in Eastern Europe, for instance, Ukraine. If you choose a team from Western Europe or the US, the custom development costs to create a rental marketplace will be higher.

Undoubtedly, the price can significantly vary depending on your business needs and the technology stack used. So, we recommend turning to your web development partner for a more exact final cost.

Be the next big name in rentals: build your own platform

The world is moving towards access over ownership - people want flexibility, convenience, and seamlessness. Whether it's a short-term stay, renting a car, or some sort of special equipment, a solid marketplace for rentals can tap into this high-demanding trend and bring in a lot of money.

This guide covers everything from essential features and ways to make money to real-world success stories and how much online marketplace development costs. Now is the time to tap into the growing demand for rental solutions and establish your platform.

So, are you ready to build the next Airbnb or Booking.com? See our completed projects or contact us to consider your rental marketplace idea. We are here to bring it to life and create a money-making business for you.