merideth tennant
Aug 8, 2017 · 1 min read

As you suggest, I agree that the difference in the AirBnb vs. Booking UIs is largely down to user demographics. If I were to apply the “mom test”, my mom would feel much more comfortable on Booking.com. She wouldn’t feel like AirBnb was made for her. And she wouldnt be wrong.

In fact, I sent my mom to AirBnb to book a room for a short trip, a few years ago. She tried it but then went over to VRBO (pre- it’s Homeaway redesign) which she found much more familiar and comforting.

Booking has built as site for anybody. There’s very little chance a shopper on that site would feel like he/she doesn’t understand what’s happening. A typical AirBnb shopper could confidently book there. That’s not necessarily the case for AirBnb who rely on a certain level of modern savvyness in its shoppers — both in the context of the site and the context of that type of real-world travel. Their “not for everyone” approach allows them to refine a UI that is only useful to a sub-set of shoppers ie their preferred demographics. (As a UX professional, I’ve often been jealous of AirBnb’s ability to really focus their experience for more narrow segment of shoppers.)

    merideth tennant

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    Design Director UX/ID/blah blah blah