Airbnb · Strategy · Senior · 45 to 60 minutes

How should Airbnb Experiences restart growth?

Airbnb is a marketplace where people can book places to stay and travel activities hosted by locals. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

Strategic diagnosis
Experiment design
Metrics design
Stakeholder management
Change leadership

The situation

Your VP for Airbnb Experiences has asked you for a strategy memo before the next planning review. Experiences was launched to let travelers book activities hosted by locals, and the business has strong stories from guests who do book, plus signs that the concept fits the Airbnb brand. But overall growth is softer than the team expected, and leadership is divided on why. One view is that the core product is compelling and the real gap is awareness, so the answer is stronger distribution, clearer positioning, and more marketing support. Another view is that awareness alone will not unlock the next stage of growth, and that the offer itself may need to evolve. Why this matters now: the team needs to commit budget, host guidance, and roadmap focus for the next planning cycle. A wrong call could waste spend, confuse hosts, and further slow momentum. The decision is also emotionally hard because the current approach reflects a deliberate bet by the team, and changing course could unsettle people who built it. You need to recommend how Airbnb should diagnose the problem and what strategic path to take next.

What to produce

A 2 page strategy memo.

Your answer must

State the core decision clearly and frame at least two plausible explanations for soft growth, including awareness and offer design.
Recommend a strategy for the next two planning cycles, including whether to prioritize marketing, changes to the core offer, or a staged combination, and explain why.
Lay out 2 to 3 concrete analyses or experiments that would reduce uncertainty fastest, with the signal each one should produce and how it would change the decision.
Define success metrics and leading indicators for guest demand, host health, and business momentum.
Address second order effects on hosts, brand, and team morale, and explain how you would manage the organization through the chosen path.

Constraints

Stay within Airbnb's existing marketplace model and trust standards for hosts and guests.
Do not assume a large, sustained increase in paid marketing spend.
Your near term plan should be testable within the next two planning cycles.

Format

Use sections for diagnosis, strategic options, recommendation, test plan, risks, and metrics.

How Airbnb actually played it

A first-hand account of how the Airbnb Experiences team found that high-priced offerings were not driving growth and pivoted by shortening the format and lowering the price while keeping core principles. It also describes how to lead a team through such a change.

Be willing to admit a bet is not working
Change price and format while keeping principles
Keep the team resilient through a pivot

Built from The great PIVOT of Airbnb Experiences by Nickey Skarstad.