Luxury Goods Rental Marketplace
A Paris startup wanted to disrupt luxury goods ownership by enabling peer-to-peer rental of handbags, watches, and jewellery — think Airbnb for luxury. The key challenges were trust (renting a €4,000 Hermès bag to a stranger), insurance integration, and a mobile-first UX that matched the premium nature of the goods being exchanged.
Build something similar →The Challenge
A Paris startup wanted to disrupt luxury goods ownership by enabling peer-to-peer rental of handbags, watches, and jewellery — think Airbnb for luxury. The key challenges were trust (renting a €4,000 Hermès bag to a stranger), insurance integration, and a mobile-first UX that matched the premium nature of the goods being exchanged.
Our Solution
We built a native iOS and Android app in FlutterFlow backed by Supabase (database + auth) and Xano (business logic, insurance API integration). Algolia powered the search experience — faceted filtering by brand, category, price range, and location with sub-100ms response times. Stripe Connect handled lender payouts. An insurance API integration (via Make.com webhook) automatically quotes and binds coverage for each rental transaction.
Trust architecture for high-value items
When someone lends a €4,000 handbag, trust is the product. We implemented a three-tier trust framework: basic (email verified), standard (phone + photo ID), and verified (Stripe Identity document verification). Lenders can set minimum renter trust tiers for each item. Stripe Identity's document check runs in the FlutterFlow app natively — users photograph their ID with the phone camera, Stripe returns a verification result within 30 seconds, and Xano updates the trust tier. For lenders earning above €500/month, verified status is mandatory.
Algolia for luxury search UX
Supabase's built-in full-text search handles simple queries, but luxury goods search has nuanced requirements: brand hierarchy (Hermès > Kelly > Kelly 25 Sellier), condition gradients, and location proximity. Algolia's index syncs from Supabase via a Make.com scenario that fires on listing insert or update. The FlutterFlow search screen uses Algolia's InstantSearch Flutter SDK for instant results-as-you-type. Facet counts update dynamically as filters are applied, so users always see "8 results" not "0 results" after selecting an impossible combination.
Insurance integration via Make.com
Every rental is automatically insured — this was a non-negotiable for lenders. We integrated an insurtech API that accepts item value, renter trust score, and rental duration, and returns a premium quote in milliseconds. If the renter accepts the quote, Make.com triggers the policy binding call and stores the policy reference in Supabase against the booking record. The premium is charged to the renter's card via Stripe at booking confirmation. Claims are filed through a dedicated in-app flow that collects photos, a description, and the policy reference.
Growth trajectory
The app launched with 120 curated lender accounts recruited through luxury fashion communities on Instagram. Month 1 was focused on supply: incentivised lenders with zero commission for their first 3 rentals, reaching 800 lenders by end of month 2. Month 3 saw the first significant demand push — a partnership with a Parisian fashion influencer drove 2,400 new renter sign-ups in a single week. GMV hit €90K in that month. The App Store rating of 4.7 reflects consistently high-quality items and a smooth booking flow.
Features delivered
Technology stack
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Get a free quote →The insurance integration was the feature that unlocked lender trust. Once lenders knew every rental was automatically covered, the supply side of the marketplace exploded.Isabelle C.CEO, Luxury Rental Marketplace (Paris)
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