Pandemic-Aware Trip Recommendations for a Major Online Travel Agency
Company: Expedia
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
You are a product manager at a large online travel company such as Expedia. Explain how you would build a product that recommends travel to its users. Design it for the Covid-19 pandemic: account for the situation travelers face and for how their preferences have changed.
```hint Recommend what, to whom, and when
"Travel recommendation" could mean suggesting where to go, what to book for a trip already chosen, or what to do on arrival. Decide which decision your product helps with and for which travelers, then ask how the pandemic changed what makes a recommendation useful for that decision.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Which decision should the product help with: choosing a destination, choosing flights, lodging or a package for a chosen trip, or planning activities at the destination?
- Is this a new product or an improvement to recommendations the company already shows, and on which surfaces (app, website, email)?
- Which markets are in scope, and should it cover domestic trips, international trips or both, given that restrictions differ by country?
- Which business goal matters most: more bookings, more repeat travelers, higher-value trips, or rebuilding traveler trust?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A goal linked to the company's business, and one recommendation decision to focus on.
- Traveler segments with pandemic-specific changes in behavior and needs, and a reasoned choice of segment.
- Recommendation inputs and logic that reflect those changes (restrictions, flexibility, crowding, safety) alongside personal preferences, prioritized solutions and a first version to launch.
- Success metrics that reach completed trips and repeat bookings, guardrails such as cancellations and trust, and how the product adapts as conditions change.
### Follow-up Questions
- Restrictions are lifted and preferences drift back toward pre-pandemic patterns. Which parts of your product stay, and which do you retire?
- How do you avoid recommending a destination that is open when the traveler searches but closes before the trip?
- How would you recommend trips to a new user with no booking history?
Overview: An Expedia product design prompt about building a travel recommendation product for a large online travel company while accounting for the Covid-19 pandemic and shifting traveler preferences. It tests goal setting, traveler segmentation, recommendation logic, prioritization and success metrics with guardrails.