Product Design Case: Build a New Travel Experience Inside Instagram

You are a product manager on Instagram at Meta. Design a new product for travel inside Instagram: decide who it serves and at which stage of a trip, identify the problems it should solve, choose the features for a first version, and explain how you would measure whether it works. ```hint Start from what people already do People already discover places, save posts and tag locations on Instagram. Look for the step of a trip that this behavior leaves unfinished, and where Instagram's content and friends give it an edge. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the product for travelers only, or also for the hotels, tour operators and local businesses already active on Instagram? - Which part of a trip is in scope: choosing where to go, planning, being there, or sharing afterward? - Should Instagram handle bookings itself, hand off to booking partners, or stop at inspiration and planning? - Is the main goal engagement, a new source of revenue, or making travel content on Instagram more useful? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal that fits Instagram's role in discovery and sharing, and its business. - Traveler segments and trip stages, with a reasoned choice of focus. - Pain points mapped to features that use Instagram's assets (location-tagged posts, saved posts, creators, friends), prioritized into a first version. - Partner and monetization choices, such as booking partners and local businesses, with their trade-offs. - Success metrics beyond views and taps, plus risks such as location privacy, misleading or sponsored content and overcrowding of popular spots. ### Follow-up Questions - How would you avoid steering people to places that look great in photos but disappoint in person? - What would change if Instagram took bookings and payments itself instead of handing off to partners? - Travel posts can reveal where someone is right now, or that their home is empty. How would the product protect users?