The Airbnb Host Wannabe
The goal of this project was to create an dashboard for the aspiring „Airbnb Host Wannabe“ which provides earning predictions and pricing strategies tailored to the hosts individual needs, aiming to maximizing their earnings through Airbnb rentals efficently while maintaining Supterhost status.
This 2-week project kicked off with a presentation by data analysts, who showcased their data visualization projects. From these presentations, we selected the project that personally resonated with us the most and fulfilled other criteria.
We agreed on the Airbnb Earning Predictions Project. Their MVP was to develop an web/app plattform which helps hosts make market entry decisions, allowing them to evaluate their potential earnings. The project involved collecting and transforming data, utilizing machine learning algorithms, and focusing on data from Mexico City to kick off the initiative.
Stakeholder Research
To prepare for the initial interviews with the data analyst team and various Airbnb hosts, we began by formulating open-ended questions that we believed would yield insightful responses and potentially uncover unexpected outcomes.
From the five interviews we conducted, we identified three topics potentially important for hosts.
1. Superhost Status
This status offers valuable insights into the advantages and disadvantages of attaining Superhost status, along with its effects on host satisfaction and the guest experience.
2. Concerns About Future Regulations
This topic yields valuable insights into hosts’ concerns regarding potential future alterations in Airbnb regulations, especially regarding housing and community matters, and their strategies for adaptation.
3. Different Approaches to Length of Tenancy
Examining the various approaches to tenancy duration yields insights into the factors that influence length of stay, encompassing location, seasonality, demand, property type, and host preferences.
Secondary Research
Following that, we proceeded with our Secondary Research phase, in which we identified and clustered five new topics derived from our interviews using the infinity diagram.
User Persona
To understand the motivations and challenges of the “Airbnb Host Wannabe,” we analyzed the key issues and thought processes of our target audience, which served as the foundation for creating our user persona. This process facilitated our connection with the target group, enabling us to make informed product decisions and provide tailored services to meet their specific needs.
Meet Sarah, an aspiring Airbnb host with dreams of leveraging her spacious apartment in a prime location to increase her income and ease her mortgage burden. However, Sarah’s journey is loaded with challenges.
Driven by the desire to earn extra income and maintain her Superhost status for credibility, Sarah navigates a labyrinth of obstacles. She grapples with information overload, wrestles with legal uncertainties, and navigates the complexities of regulatory changes. Additionally, logistical hurdles, such as managing cleaning and check-in logistics, compound her frustrations.
Amidst these challenges, Sarah seeks guidance. She yearns for pricing strategies to optimize her earnings, seeks clarity on legal requirements, and desires reliable cleaning solutions to uphold her Superhost status.
Despite setbacks, Sarah remains resolute. With unwavering determination and a longing for financial stability, she embarks on her Airbnb hosting journey, committed to overcoming obstacles and forging her path to success.
User Journey
After establishing the goals, needs, and frustrations of our user persona, we illustrated the user journey to spotlight their challenges early in the process.
Problem Statement
This step was crucial in articulating the challenge our team faced and pinpointing the areas requiring attention.
How might We
With the Problem Statement established, we crafted our “How might we (HMW)” statement. This approach enabled us to delve into understanding user needs and problems before diving into solutions, laying the foundation for ideation and exploration of potential outcomes.
Ideation
In the ideation phase, we set out to design the desired dashboard using the “crazy 8s” method. We quickly generated ideas, followed by multiple rounds of brainstorming, idea clarification, and voting. Our evaluation was guided by questions like:
- What problem are we trying to solve?
- What is the primary objective of the dashboard?
- Which data categories (operational/analytical) are represented and how do they intersect?
We assessed each idea based on its potential value and implementation effort.
The Design Process
Subsequently, we identified two main features (earning prediction and strategy planning) to prioritize and integrate into our prototype early for testing with stakeholders using heuristic testing methods.
Recognizing the need for an intuitive method to assess potential earnings for the current year compared to previous earnings, we aimed for simplicity without requiring extensive personalization or deep understanding of dashboard functionalities and strategies. Thus, we seamlessly integrated this analytical dashboard into the existing Airbnb platform, ensuring all necessary information would be readily available in the upper dashboard section.
Visible upon opening the dashboard, this section includes details on Active Listings, Monthly Income, Current Balance, Average Daily Rate, Income Prediction, and Gross vs. Net Earnings.
For users seeking more insights and flexible control over their booking strategies, we designed a second, more operational dashboard section. Here, hosts can modify, adjust, compare, and explore existing strategies across different time periods, empowering them with greater control and understanding.
Output and Outcome
Our design process started by sketching out low-fidelity prototypes, followed by thorough discussions. Feeling confident in our concepts, we simultaneously developed two mid-fidelity prototypes using Figma. These prototypes underwent testing by stakeholders and peers, gathering valuable feedback. After evaluating this feedback, we swiftly merged the best elements of both layouts into one high-fidelity prototype.
Iterative prototyping and feedback loops drove the design of the earning dashboard, with a focus on predictive income modeling and pricing strategies.
What’s next?
Takeaways underscored the significance of continuous communication and feedback loops, fostering creativity and alignment. Effective task delegation necessitated clear concept definition before assignment.
To understand the motivations and challenges of the “Airbnb Host Wannabe,” we analyzed the key issues and thought processes of our target audience, which served as the foundation for creating our user persona. This process facilitated our connection with the target group, enabling us to make informed product decisions and provide tailored services to meet their specific needs.
The implementation of the earning dashboard offered valuable insights for hosts, enabling informed pricing decisions and financial planning.
Through the Airbnb Host Wannabe project, we addressed the financial concerns of aspiring hosts like Sarah, equipping them with a tool to optimize their earnings and achieve their hosting goals.
This case study showcases our dedication to user-centered design and iterative development, demonstrating our ability to deliver impactful solutions even within constrained environments.
