Today we’re letting you in on a little secret; the team at Blueshoon loves to travel. In fact inspired by years spent traveling together (4 continents and counting), one of John and Roy’s first company projects was building a listing site for vacation rentals. Airbnb beat them to the market with a slick website that is very user-friendly and how could we be mad about that? We’ve been fans ever since!

Who doesn’t love this homepage? It’s sleek, easy to use, and gets you started quickly on your vacation rental search. After all, that’s why you’re using the site! We’re in love with the subtle use of video on the header. (And now planning a fly fishing vacation, because that looks awesome)

Once your initial trip details are entered in the search bar, airbnb’s site really starts to shine. They’ve spent a lot of time figuring out the filters that matter to travelers and you can customize the locations you’re shown based on what is important to you. Need wireless internet? You can filter out any place that doesn’t offer that. Want a host that speaks your language when you’re traveling internationally? That filter exists too!

Beyond your initial search, airbnb takes care of the rest of your vacation rental seamlessly. There’s a messaging platform to send emails to potential hosts and confirm trip details. Payments are handled through the website automatically, keeping banking information and credit card numbers secure. Each host and traveler has their own profile and airbnb encourages reviews for the vacation rentals and the travelers.

The mobile site is just as user-friendly for searching on your phone or tablet. If you’re using airbnb a lot, there is an app for Android and iOS.

In short, we’re super impressed by the integration of the clean website design and the back-end development. And that’s why we love airbnb.