Inspiration
Living in a small urban apartment, I kept buying tools, camping gear, and party supplies I only used once—wasting money and space. I noticed friends and local small businesses had the same frustration, and that’s when RentalHub was born: a platform to share, rent, and live more sustainably, no more unnecessary ownership.
What it does
RentalHub is an online marketplace for renting tools, electronics, outdoor gear, and party supplies. Users browse categorized items, book for specific dates (pickup or delivery), and merchants manage listings, calendars, and orders—all built around sustainable consumption.
How we built it
First, I mapped user flows (booking, listing management) in Figma, designing a modern UI with bold animations and a warm, accessible color palette. I built the front end with React and Styled-components (focusing on responsive grids and scroll animations), and the back end with Node.js/Express, using MongoDB to store listings, bookings, and user data. AWS S3 handled image uploads for merchant listings.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest hurdle was syncing the rental calendar—ensuring booked dates blocked selection across user and merchant dashboards. I also struggled with making scroll-triggered animations smooth on mobile, and validating identity verification workflows to meet trust/safety standards.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We created a seamless booking flow that’s intuitive for both renters and merchants, with trust features (identity verification, insurance badges) that build user confidence. The responsive design works flawlessly across desktop/mobile, and the scroll animations enhance UX without sacrificing performance.
What we learned
I mastered balancing aesthetic design with functional logic—animations are progressive enhancements, not core features. I also learned the importance of trust in peer-to-peer marketplaces: small details (verification badges, clear deposit terms) make a huge difference in user adoption.
What's next for this project
We plan to add in-app messaging for renters/merchants, integrate local delivery partner APIs, and launch a "Smart Pricing" tool for merchants (using category data to suggest optimal daily rates). Long-term, we’ll expand to more European countries and add a subscription tier for frequent renters.
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