ABOUT PROJECT
By connecting local car rental companies and private car owners directly with individuals seeking rental vehicles, Rent From Locals creates a more personal, community-oriented experience for all users. At Roobykon, we helped bring this platform’s vision to life through the seamless integration of cutting-edge technology, ensuring that the platform’s functionality meets the highest standards of user experience. By offering a robust, easy-to-navigate interface, we’ve made it simple for renters to find the perfect car, whether it’s for a weekend getaway or a business trip, all while providing car owners with a chance to earn revenue from their vehicles.
Our collaboration with Localweb, co-founded by Marin and Kledjan, ensures that the platform not only supports local car owners but also contributes to the economic well-being of neighborhoods. Rent From Locals enables individuals to provide rental cars within their local communities, thereby empowering both owners and renters alike while strengthening local economies.
Key Challenges
One of the most critical hurdles we faced emerged during the deployment of the staging environment. To ensure a true-to-life testing ground, we were working with both the codebase and production database, but the staging server had a distinct configuration and a different database structure. This led to a cascade of deployment inconsistencies, from broken views and incomplete test runs to mismatches in data interpretation. Each discrepancy meant troubleshooting at the configuration level and adapting the staging infrastructure to bridge the gap between environments without compromising production integrity.
Another core issue we encountered was tied to the code’s frequent use of hardcoded ID references. Instead of relying on dynamic variables or database-driven queries, several parts of the application logic and user interface were directly dependent on specific record IDs, which worked in production but consistently broke when mirrored in staging. These rigid dependencies created fragility throughout the platform, requiring our team to trace and refactor large portions of the logic to ensure flexibility and consistency across environments.
TECHNOLOGY STACK
core API
Solution Highlights
Leveraging the robust foundation provided by Sharetribe OpenSource, we built a versatile and community-driven marketplace tailored to facilitate connections between local car rental businesses, private car owners, and everyday drivers. By hosting Rent From Locals on AWS, we benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure that provides resilient cloud services, high availability, and robust security measures. AWS’s flexibility supports our platform’s demand-driven scaling, ensuring that users experience consistent performance regardless of load fluctuations.
Location intelligence is critical for the success of a car rental platform. Our integration with Google Maps delivers precise, real-time mapping functionality. It not only enhances the user experience by pinpointing car locations but also facilitates seamless navigation and enhanced trust in the rental process. With Stripe powering our payment system, Rent From Locals benefits from a secure, flexible, and globally trusted processing solution. Stripe’s robust API and extensive payment options allow us to integrate smooth, hassle-free transactions while ensuring that stringent security protocols are met.
THE PROCESS
01
We kicked off this project by carefully defining the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) scope. In this phase, we engaged in detailed discussions to iron out the specifics of the features that would form the platform’s score. This phase laid the foundation for what AllCourse would become.
02
With the MVP scope in place, we focused on aesthetics and user experience. We embarked on a design journey, crafting the visual identity and user interface of AllCourse. The design was thoroughly reviewed and approved to align perfectly with the project’s vision.
03
The culmination of our efforts came as we rolled out the MVP within the 10-week timeline. This phase marked the launch of the AllCourse platform in its initial form. After just 10 weeks, users were already reaping the benefits of this innovative marketplace, connecting educators, schools, parents, and students.
04
Agile support and iterations: Throughout the entire process, we maintained a strong communication loop with the client—holding weekly check-ins, adjusting features, refining UX elements, and incorporating new requirements as needed.
05
Final delivery and handover: Our development tasks have been fully completed. The platform stands ready with an upgraded user experience, improved feature set, and a solid codebase that supports future scalability.
Main Features
Interactive availability two-dimensional grid
We introduced an interactive availability grid to make it easier for car providers to manage and review their rental inventory. This grid displays cars vertically and calendar dates horizontally, creating a two-dimensional matrix. It allows car providers to quickly see the availability of their vehicles at a glance and efficiently block off dates for individual cars. This tool also supports bulk operations, so providers can block multiple cars for certain dates with a single action, saving time and streamlining the management of their fleets.
API for date blocking integration
To enhance the marketplace’s flexibility, we developed a secure API that allows car rental providers with their own systems to integrate their calendars with Rent From Locals automatically. Additionally, we implemented the ability to create API users, along with comprehensive documentation for ease of use. This means that providers can seamlessly connect their systems with the platform, automating the date blocking and eliminating manual errors or inconsistencies.
Duplicate listings feature
Recognizing that many car rental providers have multiple similar vehicles in their fleet, we implemented a duplicate listings feature. This allows providers to replicate existing listings quickly, rather than re-entering all the data from scratch each time they want to list a similar car. With this feature, providers can clone a listing and simply update certain fields (e.g., car model, price, or availability), streamlining the process of adding multiple cars to the platform.
Multilingual support
To cater to a global audience, we added multilingual support for the platform. This required developing a system that could translate all content on the homepage into different languages, which is not a default feature in Sharetribe OpenSource. We also implemented a language switcher on the main page, ensuring users can easily toggle between languages.
Green zone in core web vitals
As part of our ongoing commitment to performance optimization, we ensured that all updates to the Rent From Locals platform maintained the site’s position within the green zone of Core Web Vitals. Core Web Vitals are a set of performance metrics developed by Google to measure the user experience, focusing on factors like loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
RESULTS
The partnership between Rent From Locals and Roobykon Software has resulted in a significant leap forward for the platform, both in terms of functionality and user experience. One of the most notable outcomes of this collaboration has been the streamlining of car providers’ daily operations. The introduction of the interactive availability grid has significantly improved how providers manage their rental fleets. The ability to quickly review and block dates across multiple vehicles at once has reduced administrative time, allowing providers to focus more on customer service and fleet management.
As Rent From Locals expands its reach to an international audience, the multilingual support we implemented has ensured that users from various regions can access the platform in their preferred language. The platform is now not only more efficient for car providers but also more accessible and enjoyable for customers worldwide. This partnership has laid a strong foundation for continued success and growth, and we’re excited to see Rent From Locals flourish in the years to come.
Lessons from Rent From Locals
One of the most important takeaways from this project was the critical importance of clear and thorough communication with the client from the very beginning. With so many complex features and intricate details involved, it became essential to go over every aspect of the project in depth, whether it was the specifics of an interactive feature or the way the API would function. We spent significant time discussing all the finer points of what was included in the scope, ensuring both we and the client were on the same page.
This upfront effort might have taken a bit more time during the initial estimating phase, but it paid off in the long run. It ensured that there were no misunderstandings or assumptions about what was covered, allowing us to avoid potential discrepancies down the road. When it came time to execute, we were able to proceed confidently, with both sides clear on what to expect. This practice of clarity and alignment helped us avoid scope creep and made our work much more efficient overall.
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