Tourly
Product Design | Apartment Renting | B2B/B2C
Product Strategy
Product Design
Competitive Analysis
Market Study
Stakeholder Analysis
Persona Mapping
User Stories
User Journey
Wireframing
Prototyping
UX Research
Usability Testing
Product
Website
Role
Product Designer | Team of 6
Time Duration
7 Weeks
Challenge
Navigating apartment hunting from miles across the sea is hard. There are issues of trust and legitimacy. Tourly is a virtual open house platform that focuses its features to provide a trusted experience to its users.
Solution
Our approach involves a virtual open house platform which puts trust at the forefront, verifying the information put forth by the potential renters and landlords to create a transparent and seamless process in choosing the right place for you among the many options present to create a convenient process.
Problem Statement
How might we provide remote renters with a transparent and reliable way to tour apartments?
Problem Statement
Navigating Trust, Complexity, and Choice







Through research and conversations with renters, several recurring patterns emerged. Many international students and early-career professionals struggle to determine which listings are trustworthy, often encountering scams or uncertainty when properties are managed by independent landlords. Lease agreements frequently feel overwhelming due to unfamiliar legal language, making it difficult for renters to fully understand their commitments. While virtual tours help people explore options remotely, most renters still rely heavily on advice and informal resources shared through personal networks. At the same time, comparing and tracking multiple listings can quickly become overwhelming, especially when affordability pressures and rising rents limit available choices. These findings revealed that renters are not just searching for housing—they are navigating uncertainty, information overload, and trust gaps throughout the decision-making process.
Market Analysis
There are approximately 44 million rental units in the U.S., with an estimated 10% utilizing online rental platforms to serve remote renters. Capturing the entire U.S. market through subscription and integration fees presents a total annual revenue potential of $148M. Focusing specifically on the Pittsburgh rental market, the revenue potential is estimated at $40M annually. Our goal is to capture 5% of this market within 3-5 years of launch, translating to an annual revenue of $2M.
Translating Values to Features

Seamless end-to-end process
The solution must allow tenants to easily navigate the entire rental process, from searching and comparing listings to securing and leasing a property

End-to-end encryption
All the data protecting sensitive tenant information throughout the process is encrypted to ensure privacy and security

Verification
Verified and all details of the listing required by the tenant to compare options and make an informed decision

Community Features
Includes tools or links that help tenants easily find nearby amenities and services, and an option for tenants to communicate and coordinate with flatmates

Remote viewing capabilities
Provide virtual tours, high quality images and videos to allow tenants to view properties remotely and ensure that all rental details are transparently visible.

Transparency
Ensure transparency of all information in the listings to help renters make the right choice

Digital Accessibility
Provide information and communication means in versatile modalities

Physical Accessibility
Offering translation tools enabling international users to understand listings and communicate with stakeholders in their preferred language

Real time listing updates
Show status of listings so applicants are not wasting deposit money and have clarity
Solution

Business Model
Revenue Streams

We charge landlords and property managers a subscription fee to list their properties and host live tours, while tenants can unlock premium features like recorded tours, priority booking, and virtual tour insights.

Partnering platforms, such as Airbnb and Zillow, pay us for integrating our live tour plugin into their services.

We generate additional revenue by offering advertising opportunities for related services, such as moving companies or home furnishing providers, on our platform.
Looking Ahead

Usability Testing
We will continue to collect user feedback through surveys, in-app prompts, and support channels to identify opportunities for improvement. We will improve user experience through customer support, live chat, and an extensive FAQ section.
Integration
Our flexible APIs will make it easy for third-party platforms like Airbnb and Zillow to integrate and adopt our solution without significant technical barriers.
Transparency
We will strengthen the verification process for property listings to prevent scams and provide real-time updates.
Scalability
Our platform will support multiple devices, including desktops, mobile phones, and tablets. We will continue to explore new markets by tailoring the platform for different regions, legal requirements, cultural norms, and housing

Copyright 2026, Manasi Dushyant Mehta
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