Airbnb Product Sense: Coordinating a Group of Travelers From First Idea to Booked Stay

You are a product manager at Airbnb. Design a feature that makes it easier for people traveling as a group, such as friends sharing a house or an extended family going away together, to plan their trip on Airbnb. Walk through which group you would build for, where planning breaks down for them today, the feature you would build first, and how you would know it is working. ```hint Find where the plan stalls Follow one group trip from the first message in a group chat to arrival, and mark each point where progress waits on several people agreeing, committing or paying; design for one of those points instead of improving search for a single guest. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which groups are in scope: friends splitting the cost of a house, multi-generational families, or work offsites paid for by an employer? - Is the goal more group bookings, fewer group plans abandoned before booking, or a better experience for the group members who are not the person booking? - Should the feature stop once the stay is booked, or also cover the trip itself, such as activities and costs shared during the stay? - Can group members who have no Airbnb account take part, given that one organizer usually invites everyone else? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A chosen group segment and planning stage, with a reason for picking it over the alternatives - The different roles inside a group (the organizer, active contributors, members who rarely respond) and the coordination problems each one has when agreeing on dates, budget and a listing, and when paying - A concrete first version with its main flows, building on what Airbnb already offers instead of recreating a group chat - Success metrics tied to completed group bookings, with guardrails that protect hosts and solo-guest conversion - Risks such as parties and over-occupancy, payment failures when someone drops out, and privacy between group members ### Follow-up Questions - If only the organizer has an Airbnb account, how does your design still work, and what would lead the others to sign up? - How would you show that the feature creates new group bookings rather than moving bookings that would have happened anyway? - A host worries that group features will bring more parties to their home; what in your design addresses that?