Company
Airbnb
Role
Sole Product Designer
Timeline
January 2024 - February 2024
Overview
This project was completed as a submission for the Kleiner Perkins Design fellowship. Through this design, I elevated the booking experience for Airbnb guests by enhancing rating transparency and highlighting existing critical features within the booking user flow.
Problem
Tackling the trust gap between Airbnb guests and the platform.
User research revealed that misleading Airbnb pages frustrated users, there were usability and transparency issues with the reviews feature, and excessive steps required to access the "Experiences" and "Host Guidebook" features, leading to a complicated user flow.
Snapshot
Final Solutions
01. Experiences and Host Guidebook Integration
The new feature integration autoloads with the user's location, dates, and number of guest preferences to streamline access to nearby experiences. The Guidebook is highlighted in a central location on the Host Card making it easier to locate.
02. Reviews Transparency
The redesigned reviews feature clearly displays each user's BNB category rankings for cleanliness, accuracy, location, value, and host communication. Filter functionality was also added to view x-star rated reviews.



Research
Identifying usability challenges for Airbnb guests
To understand what aspects of the designs worked well for users, and identify opportunities for improvement, I examined Airbnb’s reviews on Apple's App Store and found:
Users are frustrated with the misrepresentation of BNB's by the host (missing amenities, incorrect check-in instructions, etc.) revealing a lack of accuracy in BNB reviews.
Gathering insights
Usability Testing with 5 users
User 1
"Check in and communication [categories] go hand in hand. I don't know why they have those separated."
User 3
"I would definitely look at the Host Guidebook if it was easier to find. Locals usually have the best recommendations for places I've never visited before."
User 4
"The path to accessing nearby experiences wasn't as accessible as I'd hoped. I had no idea Airbnb even offered this."
Wireframes
Ideating Solutions
Based on the pain points revealed through the usability test and app store reviews with the current design, I identified opportunities for improvement and created wireframes to test the designs.
Updating the User Journey
Streamlining user flows to complete key actions
Based on user research and feedback from the usability tests, I developed the high fidelity prototype and updated user flows to key actions users take on the BNB page.
Solution Impact
Building better user journeys, transparency, and trust
I conducted a usability test on the final redesign with 5 participants to measure the success of the redesign.
01. Filter option expedites locating review
When purchasing a product online users reported searching for the lowest rated reviews first. The original design required 3 clicks for users to access the lowest rated reviews. The redesign optimizes the user flow, by allowing users to filter reviews based on number of star ratings (on 1 click).
80% of users entered an error path when searching for the lowest star reviews in the original design.
67% click reduction in the redesign to access lowest star reviews.
100% of users successfully entered the optimal path to find lowest star reviews in the redesign.
03. Integrate Experiences feature to expand functionality
Booking an Airbnb Experience close to the BNB, transforms Airbnb into a valuable itinerary tool. This redesign improves the user flow of accessing Experiences by loading the data used to search for the Airbnb (location, date, number of guests) into the Experiences search feature and displays the results directly on the BNB page.
Optimized user flow by 80% to access nearby Experiences
"I like that it's all on the same page, when you're booking your BNB all your data is already inputted, so now I can see things to do nearby."
- User 1 (usability study)
Next Steps
Limitations of this project's scope left me thinking about: 
Scalability of Rating Categories
I redesigned this feature operating under the assumption that each reviewer rated the BNB/host on each of the rating categories. If this isn’t the case, adding a “Learn more” section about how the ratings are calculated is another possible (and lower-cost) solution.
Measuring Success of Experiences Integration
As a conceptual project, I lacked access to Airbnb's internal insights. If these designs were to be implemented, some KPIs I would use to measure success include: Conversion Rate Optimization for the Experiences feature (post-integration bookings), and Total Revenue from Experiences.
More User & Market Research
With more time, I would analyze competitors like TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Booking.com and conduct user interviews to better understand the value of transforming Airbnb into a comprehensive itinerary tool through features like Nearby Experiences and the redesigned Host Guidebook flow.
View More Work