The modern-day lifestyle is nothing less than fast and furious. Especially if we are living in big cities and working in the private sector, we must become accustomed to the relentless pace at which life moves here. The quest of building a better and secure future and the hope of having a fine standard of living makes it all worth the hassle. But with the big cities rising in population, commuting has become a major challenge. Rising traffic has become a difficult hurdle to deal with. This has urged organizations to resort to car rental mobile app development to provide car rental services to make things feasible for them.
Car rentals have become vastly popular among corporate houses and upper-class businessmen who require car services on a frequent basis. Similar to the majority of industry sectors, the car rental services are also keen on flourishing their commercial aspects by the virtues of developing an on-demand service app.
Mobile app technology has helped many businesses achieve the same goal through their wide outreach and easy convenience. The car rental service is gradually coming under the same banner. Car rental businesses are resorting to mobile app development to come up with their own car rental app.
Consumers are also reaping the benefits of the seamless services offered by an on-demand car rental app. They have a wide range of car options, lucrative offers, and seamless operational flow when availing of such services. It seems like it is beneficial for us all.
Car rental mobile app development – Must-have features of car rental apps
When you decide to build your car rental app and invest in rental car app development, you must understand the basic architecture of the apps. A quick yet thorough research will tell you about the features that construct the framework of your app. Although one can come across a plethora of features based on budget and outreach, the basic ones are must-haves. We have discussed the same in brief.
1. User login and registration
First, users will be prompted to enter valid credentials that would directly go into the database of your car rental app. The next time they log in, they will have to use the same credentials, which will be fetched and verified for providing authentication. They can choose to stay logged in, however, if they want to. Program a seamless login experience for your users so that they do not retract for coming back to the app the second time.
2. Booking scheduling and managing portal
The most important portal for the users would be where the app allows them to schedule a rental car booking. This is where they can avail the services of your car rental business, and hence this is where your focus should be. The portal should be informative, user-friendly, and comprehensive.
Users can select their preferred car and input timings to get the price it will fetch them. They can browse through all the available options in the listings. Once they have made up their mind, they can schedule the booking.
The manage booking portal is equally significant as it will allow users to track their booking through real-time data. It will allow them to modify or cancel their bookings as per requirement. They can also perform multiple bookings and track each of them through this portal.
3. Multiple payment modes
Once your customers proceed to checkout, they would expect a hassle-free payment portal that accepts multiple modes of payment. Include debit and credit cards, UPI and wallets, and even net banking facilities for payment. This would ensure that no user is left stranded when their payment option is unavailable in the app.
4. Notification panel
Notifying your users about every related content is an imperative ask for modern-day online businesses. Develop a comprehensive and compact notification panel that provides all necessary updates regarding upcoming and present bookings, offers and discounts, and payment options. Ensure that the users can turn off the notifications when they wish to from the app settings.
5. Security and car tracking
We need to include a few security features for the betterment of customers and service owners alike. First, the car tracking option will allow users and owners to track their car wherever it is on the map and identify if it is laid off course. Users can share their real-time location with their contacts so that they can track them in case of any emergency. These basic security protocols are the bare minimum required in car rental app development.
6. Feedback and reviews
Most on-demand services depend on word-of-mouth reviews and online feedback for expanding their business. Rental car services are no different. Your online car rental app must have a portal for customers to provide feedback and rate the services they have availed.
This will help users make an informed decision while selecting a car for rental. Also, you must monitor the reviews properly and administer changes as required to stay relevant in the market.
Costs involved in car rental mobile app development
Developing a mobile app for your car rental business is a fantastic way to propel your sales figures, but it does warrant some upfront costs. These aspects are discussed in brief below.
1. Acquiring necessary tech stack
A robust car rental mobile app would require an impressive technology stack for efficient development. Without the right tools, the app would end up incomplete or unsatisfactory, affecting your business adversely. The below-mentioned technologies are required for your rental car mobile app development.
- Cloud storage – Cloud storage and servers are required for accessing and storing data related to your rental car business.
- Car tracking – Google maps and apple maps can track data from the user proximity sensors on the cars and provide real-time tracking data to the users and the administrators.
- Database – Database instances such as MongoDB, Cassandra, Postgres, etc., are necessary for maintaining and administering the large volumes of data that your mobile app will fetch from the customers.
- Analytics tools – Google Analytics, Flurry, and similar tools are imperative for handling analytical requirements for your business.
- Integrating advanced features – Incorporating all the required advanced features into your app will fetch a high price from the development team. This would depend largely upon the location of the team and the number of developers you hire.
Conclusion
Car rental businesses have all caught on the trend and are investing in car rental app development. If you want to develop a rental car app of your own, it’s best to start from the basics. Getting to know the must-have features and the costs involved in the same is the right place to start.