Research Goals
To understand the effectiveness of Airbnb Experiences' nomenclature, its filter functionality, and icon findability.
I also wanted to assess the competitive landscape, preferred features & event characteristics, and help/Customer Service interactions.
Lastly, I sought to identify opportunities, especially regarding devices and personas.
Process
To see how usable Airbnb Experiences was, I performed:
4 in-person user interviews,
3 remote user tests via UserTesting.com,
Sent 2 Google Form surveys via Amazon Mechanical Turk, and
Conducted competitive analyses with Nextdoor and Facebook Events.
First, I Identified Target Users
My 4 in-person user interviews were: 2 females, 2 males (2 familiar with app; 2 new to app) ages 28-45, and all living in the Bay Area.
My 3 remote testers were: 3 females (all familiar with app), ages 18-39, and 2 living in CA; 1 in Hawaii.
Survey 1 Demographics
Of 108 respondents, there were 46 females, mostly 18 to 40 year olds living in the suburbs, and 62 males, also mostly ages 18 to 40, but living in cities.
Survey 2 Demographics
Of 98 respondents, there were 56 were Android users and 42 iPhone users.
““This photo has a light background, and the icons are light, so it doesn’t stand out.””
Then I Tracked User Comments
In response to my research questions, I found that,
4/4 in-person interviewees were not sure what “Experiences” meant,
2/4 participants said the icons were difficult to see (see example in the image to the left here), and
2/4 participants had trouble filtering their Experiences.
I Zeroed-in on the Competitive Landscape
Survey participants were asked where they currently search for events.
Facebook earned 91% of responses
Nextdoor only earned 10% of responses
Facebook stands out as Airbnb Experiences’ primary competitor
I Asked what Features Users Preferred
Respondents were not too concerned about price
For Experiences lasting 1-2 hours, they preferred a group size with a max of 10 participants
Users are looking to Airbnb Experiences to do something special, whether it's local or abroad
““Oh my goodness! Why isn’t it in Help? That doesn’t make any sense. I’ll just use Google.””
I Asked about Seeking Support
4/4 in-person interviewees were not able to locate customer service contact info
Roughly half of survey respondents would be “Very Annoyed” by not having customer service needs met in app
One of the remote user testers also expressed frustration in having to use Google as a workaround to find customer service
The majority of survey respondents said they'd look for customer service contact info, “in the Help section”
“Help” is one of the top 10 usability design heuristics identified by UX guru Jakob Nielsen.
Findings: Demographics
In Survey 1, 74% reported that the females in their lives make event plans (vs. 65% who said the males in their lives did).
In regards to Airbnb Experiences however, 80% were males who booked events on the platform, and only 20% were females.
Findings: Devices
Survey 1 indicated Experiences users book events solely via laptop (80%) and tablets (20%), whereas 63% of FB’s users use their mobile
Survey 2 showed that Android users more frequently download apps than iPhone users and the majority of Android respondents specifically use Samsung brand phones
Opportunities
Given my research findings, I'd suggest the following:
Nomenclature: Add tagline under “Experiences” to help further define it
Filters: Integrate “Lodging” and “Experiences” filters to make them easier to sort and edit. Perhaps start with the place, then add ways to refine what you do there: lodging/ experiences/ etc.
Icons: Increase size and contrast
Duration: For Experiences lasting 1-2 hours, plan for a group size maximum of 10 participants
Customer Service: Make readily apparent and call the section “Help.” Provide email and FAQ list, but an area where Airbnb Experiences could really distinguish ourselves would be to offer speaking to a human customer service rep.
Devices: Design for both Android (specifically Samsung) and iPhone
Demographics: Design and provide content for female “planners”
Proposed Future Research Road Map
To continue to find ways to enhance Airbnb Experiences' usability, I'd recommend:
A/B testing various taglines to “Experiences” to see which is most clarifying
Investigating why current users prefer laptop and tablet use over mobiles
A/B testing new designs and content for female audiences
Further investigating price point for 3-4 hour events
Examining the effect of bolder icons and
Studying the best way to merge “Lodging” and “Experiences” filters