Introduction

This case study attempts to try to understand how Airbnb got be so successful. Companies, like Airbnb, come into a space and are disruptors to such a degree that they change an industry.  Airbnb’s pioneering of the sharing economy helped them gain strength to become the giant they are today. Airbnb’s business model was supported by great tech ideas suitable for collaborative consumption that aimed to take down the standard hotel industry. Even though they are on the bleeding edge of UX, there are inconsistencies with the site. It is hard to imagine that a site like this would have flaws; that will be explored in this case study.

A few factors that I found that make Airbnb so successful are …

Trust

The user must first ask him or herself a question: Can I sleep comfortably at night knowing the home owner still has access to the room or house? Airbnb set up a platform for exchanges to be made between an owner and renter; Airbnb is the middleman. Renters are required to go through a security check where their real identity is checked using Facebook connect. They also ask the question: Why are you visiting? The answer to this question helps establish trust. The reviews that people have and the experiences they go on are what really make Airbnb stand out from the hotel industry. You are renting a home from another person. The connection is to real people not a faceless company.

Ease of Use

Airbnb built an exceptionally user-friendly site that took the pain out of discovering and booking accommodations. They are heavy in to user experience, they actually listen to their users, and they are constantly changing their site to reflect that what the user wants. Airbnb releases updates on a regular basis to enrich the user experience. Just few days back the app was updated by incorporating interactive features.

Brand

Airbnb’s brand does a great job in curating listings on their homepage to make a spare room for rent look much more desirable. Searching for a place to stay on Airbnb becomes more about finding a more unique, quirky, creative space to stay– as if it is a quest or journey. This is in opposition to the hotel search engine websites where the options are standard, common, and boring. These listings generated the best kind of marketing– word of mouth. Traveling and staying in an Airbnb is “cool” and staying in a hotel is just average. Many people actually prefer Airbnb when traveling for work because they can find better listings on a hotel-sized budget.

Price

For the most part, none of the reasons above would have mattered if Airbnb’s prices weren’t generally 30-80% lower than available hotels. They could have built an interesting business renting niche properties like tree houses (which you can actually do now) but luckily they had a great business model plan and stuck with it.

Self Reported Survey

In late 2016, the company introduced a new category to the site called Experience (formally called Trips). As it is now, according to Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky, it ranked higher than homes because people like the experience of doing activities more than that of renting a home. By doing this, their mission changed a bit, and in turn, the experience of the website took a different direction. My concern is that the UX of the “Experience” section, is subpar to that of “Home Rentals”. There isn’t as many options or features to help the user find what they want faster, and the fear is that can this deter people from using it.

Adding these features would create solutions for a better experience in using the Airbnb website

• Interactive map showing where the Experiences are located
• Integrate Experiences into the home rental detail page
• Make search work just as good if not better than how you search for a home
• Making trust and safety more prominent on the homepage.

Task Based Questions for Survey

I asked three people, who fit the demographic of Airbnb, to complete a few tasks. All were millennials. Millennials already account for roughly 60 percent of all guests who have ever booked on Airbnb, and the number of Millennials who have booked on Airbnb has grown more than 120 percent in the past year. As the travel and hospitality market continues to expand, Millennials and Generation Z have been quicker to embrace home sharing.