PDP Home Highlights Project
To protect the intellectual property of Airbnb, I’ve left out portions of my project that include potentially sensitive information.
Goal
To personalize the guest journey so that every guest can confidently choose the right home.
Context
After conducting a competitive audit, I learned that our direct competitors were championing the mission of being inclusive and personalizing content that matched closely with the guest journey.
We were also championing that mission, but not consistently.
After workshopping with a designer on what I had found in my research, we strategized to improve the highlights messaging content by being more:
Human—what if highlights were more personal?
Transparent—what if highlights had positives and negatives of a home?
Timely—when should a guest see highlights? And how often?
Inclusive—what would guest-centric highlights be?
Current UI Content
A cross-functional team
I worked with a content strategy manager, product manager, product specialist, experience design lead, and two researchers to strategize and test for new and improved highlight messaging content that would be more personable for guests.
The process of writing and strategizing for these highlights was relatively convoluted, and surpassed all expectations I had prior going into this project.
While university had taught me pragmatic theory, data showed me an ever-changing environment. This was a humble moment for me, because I previously believed textbook techniques would successfully carry my project to the end — but in fact, it was the many conversations I had with those constantly engaged with the data and with the users that would propel my projects forward.
Design and Copy
I set forth to create guest-centric language, pulling in users immediately with credibility, or that of social proof, and by also incorporating stronger verbs, connoting action and excitement.
New headline: “Guests appreciated”
Transparency: “Show more”
Broader guest contexts: “Local tips,” “A quiet space,” “Attention to detail,” and more.
Takeaways
To have had the real-time data inform my decisions on a day-to-day basis, I can truly say that I have become more empathic and elastic in my approach to strategy, understanding that human needs are in a constant flux. I’ve learned that there is no set-in-stone prescription to solve a problem, and I’m grateful to have had this opportunity stretch my problem-solving capabilities.
Major takeaways:
Working in design software facilitated
relationship growth with designers.
The theory doesn’t necessarily prescribe the solution if the data says otherwise.
Not letting the sum of cross-functional feedback blur what my inherent talents are: Prioritize being a compelling storyteller.
