Airbnb Prioritization: Guests Locked Out at Check-In Versus Dirty Listings

You are a product manager at Airbnb, and two guest problems need fixing. Some guests are unable to check in to the place they booked, and some guests arrive to find the place dirty. Explain how you would prioritize between these two issues and which one you would tackle first. ```hint Harm per trip, then reach Compare what each problem does to a single trip, then how many trips it touches, and only then think about which one your team can actually fix. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - How often does each problem occur, for example per 1,000 stays, and is either one new or growing since a recent change? - Are the problems concentrated anywhere: certain markets, new hosts, or listings where guests let themselves in with a lockbox or smart lock? - Which goal matters most to the team right now: guest trust and repeat bookings, booking volume, or support cost? - Does one team own both problems, or are we deciding where a single team spends its effort? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Questions about frequency, trend and concentration before committing, and an explicit assumption where data is missing. - A clear prioritization method that weighs how often each problem happens, how badly it hurts the guest, what it costs the business and how feasible it is to fix. - A comparison of the two failures along the guest's trip, including safety, the host's role and trust in the marketplace. - A decision, the conditions that would reverse it, and metrics to track the fix. - A plan for the problem that comes second, so it is not simply dropped. ### Follow-up Questions - Your data shows complaints about dirty places are many times more common than failed check-ins. Does your decision change, and at what point would it flip? - What product changes would you ship first to reduce failed check-ins, and how would you measure them? - Guests have different standards of cleanliness. How would you measure dirtiness consistently enough to act on it?