Executive Summary 

 
This  report  is  a  product  of  the  design  challenge  and  research  for the Airbnb platform, which suggests additional features too. Airbnb is a 
platform  that  brings  hosts  (accommodation  and  lodging  service  providers),  and  guests  (Travelers  and  backpackers)  around  the  world  together. 
Airbnb  has  successfully  done  so  since  2008.  However,  Airbnb  wants  to  improve  the platform in 2 main directions; retaining its user (hosts) and 
create  a  social  impact.  Identified  problems  from  the  research  include  hosts  frustrations;  gaining  unsatisfactory  feedback,  narrow  user  journey, 
and  overall  lack  of  features  to  engage  and  motivate  hosts  in  a  long-run.  The  problems  and  solutions  are  carefully  analyzed  with  “Octalysis 
Framework”  or  the  gamification  for  human  motivation.  This  will  identify  which  feature  and  which  experience  hosts  will  want  from  using  the 
platform.  However,  another  point  to be carried is that Airbnb platform on its own is sufficiently developed, in a way that it can hardly be altered. 
Therefore, the platform still has some sub-platforms in its name, which are not receiving attention from both platform owners and users. This lies 
the  opportunity  to  develop  and  include  the  sub-platform  to  create  features  for  tackling  both  design  challenges,  without  harming  its  already 
existing platform. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 
 
1. Design problem/Opportunity……………………………………………………………………………………………………....……....….1  
1.1 SDGs addressed……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...1 
1.2 Primary and Secondary research…………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 
2. Platform Design…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....….5 
2.1 Value Propositions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….5 
2.2 Platform Architecture……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….5 
2.3 Data-informed Design……………………………………………………………………………………………...……….……….6 
2.4 Openness and rules…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….7 
2.5 Partner and stakeholders…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….8 
2.6 Monetisation strategy…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….9 
2.7. UX/UI analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….10 
3. UX/UI and Engagement Strategy……………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….10 
3.1 UX Research…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….10 
3.2 UI Design…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……….10 
3.3 Gamification/ engagement strategy………………………………………………………………………………………………….13  
3.3.1 Onboarding………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….13 
3.3.2 Scaffolding…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….15 
3.3.3 Endgame……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….15  
4. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….20 
5. References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……....…….22 
 
 
 
 
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1. Design problem and opportunity  

Airbnb  is  a  platform  that  merges  the  users  who  are  the  host  and  guest  together.  The hosts can monetize their assets by turning them into 
the  lodging  for  the  guest. Unlike the hotel or typical accommodation service, Airbnb provides the user with the local experience, interaction, and 
engagement  between  host  and  guest  which  the  hotel  is  unable  to  offer.  The  renowned  motto  of  Airbnb  is  “Belong  anyway”,  the  platform  is 
primarily  designed  to  destigmatize  the  perception  of  people  that  the  stranger  is  the  danger.  As  a  result,  Airbnb  attempts  to  make  people  feel  a 
sense of belonging and it also leads to other positive effects which are relative to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  
 
1.1 SDGs address 
Firstly,  Airbnb  helps  to  address  goal  number  8  which  is decent work and economic growth. As the world becomes more globalized (The 
United  Nations,  2014),  one  of  the  recent  trends  that have emerged is centralization or urbanization. It is the incident where people move into the 
city  to  pursue  their  better  quality  of  life,  whether  it  be  job  opportunity  or even education. When people decide to abandon their home and move 
into  the  city,  a  lot  of  cities  inevitably  become  the  desolated  town  (Kurappu,  2016).  Moreover,  people  in  some  areas  are  also  struggling  to  earn 
their  living  or  even  though  they  already  have  their  jobs  but  it  might  not  be enough to cover their daily basis expenditure. By having Airbnb, the 
desolate  town  can  be  ignited  again  because  the  local  can  turn  their  asset  into  the lodging that offers to the tourists. For those who are struggling 
to  earn  living  can  earn  more  income  by  opening  home.  Airbnb  undoubtedly  generates  economic  growth  in  the  community,  yet  it  even  allows 
people  to  become  the  hosts  and  provide  the  astonishing  and  local  experience  to  guests.  Airbnb  also  helps  to  address  SDG  goal  number  11; 
sustainable  cities  and  communities.  When  people  decide  to  monetize  their  asset  and  gain  extra  income,  they  can  simply  sustain  their  lives  and 
live  in  their  hometown.  The town is also abandoned becomes something that people want to conserve since it contains their background, culture, 
and  value.  Lastly,  Airbnb  temps  to work on the goal number 16 which is peace justice and strong institution. As mentioned earlier that the motto 
of  Airbnb  is  “Belong  anyway”.  Airbnb  doesn’t  only  act  as  the  lodging  platform  but  it  also  offers  people  the  experience,  understanding,  and 
accepting the difference such as culture, race, or language.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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1.2 Primary and secondary research 

For  the  design  challenge,  there  are  two  main  parts  that  needed  to  be  working  on.  The  first one is to retain the host while the other one is 
to  also  increase  the  social  impact.  When  it  comes  to  primary  and  secondary  analysis,  there  are  two  main  methods  employed  which  are  online 
research  and  interview.  The  purpose  of  the  online  research  is  to  understand  the  overall  picture  of  how  Airbnb  works as a platform, whether the 
users  satisfied  with  the  system  and  its  function,  and  most  importantly  to  find  out  whether  what  encourages the host to be with Airbnb and what 
might  be  the  potential  factors  that  chase  the  host  away.  Most  of  the  online  research  gathered  from  the  forum  website  such  as  Pantip  which 
provides  the  user-direct experience. Some of the information also collected from the article written by the host, guest, and the experts. Moreover, 
the  interview  research  is  mostly  conducted  through  a  phone  call  to  the  hosts  that  own  the  listings  on  Airbnb.  They  are  able  to  provide  more 
insight and useful information.  
From  the  online  research,  one  of  the  problems  that  are  quite  substantial  is  the  misconception  between  the  host  and  guest.  Airbnb  usually 
proclaims  as  the  platform  that  offers  the  local  experience,  however,  some  of  the  guests  still  have  a  misconception  about  Airbnb.  For  example, 
they  expect  to  get  the  service  as  they  stay  in  the  hotel.  There  might  be  some  hosts  that  are  available  to  provide  such  as  hotel-quality  service. 
However,  most  of  the  guests  rather  prefer  to  offer  the  guests  the  local  experience  and  interaction  because  this  aligns  with  the  Airbnb’s  value 
proposition.  Nonetheless,  the  misconception  usually  occurs  among  the  hosts  as  well.  It is undeniable that people who decide to become the host 
on  Airbnb  desire  to  monetize  their  available  assets  to  gain  the  extra  income.  Therefore,  some  hosts  are  only  focusing  on  monetizing  until  they 
neglect  to  provide  the real value which is the experience and interaction with the guest. When searching for further information, there are a lot of 
sources  confirm  that  the  main  reason  that  convinces  users  to  join  Airbnb  is  people  yearn  to  gain  the  local and warm experience which they can 
never find it from the regular hotel.  
  After  finish hosting, the guests will be able to rate how satisfied they are, how good their experience is, or even how good the accommodation 
is.  The  review  itself  can  be  interpreted  in  many  ways,  eventually,  the  review  reflects  the  quality  of  the  host  and  accommodation.  A  review 
system  helps  the  guest  to  decide  whether  which  listing  is  acceptable  or  satisfying.  It  also  separates  the  high  quality  from the low quality one, it 
gives  the  host  the feedback to work on improving their lodging. And for some hosts, it encourages them to keep up their good work. Usually, the 
review  system  is supposed to be the higher score represents the better of the placement. On Airbnb, the guests are allowed to vote from the range 
of  1-5  which  1  is  the  lowest  and  5  is  the highest. The review system on Airbnb becomes problematic because the review rate does not definitely 
represent  the  quality  of  the  placement.  For  example,  Robert  (Airbnb  host)  wrote  on  Airbnb  forum  that  usually  “5 stars” means excellent but on 
Airbnb,  it  simply  means  “Passable”, while “4 stars” means “could do better”. This somehow affects both hosts and guests because when the host 
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tried  their  best  to  impress  the  guest.  Even  though  the  guest  wants  to  rate  “5  stars” because they feel satisfied but it can only mean “passable” or 
“acceptable”.  Plus,  another  problem  is  some  hosts  experience  unfair  rating  from  the  guests.  For  example,  some  guests  rate  very  low  even  the 
hosts take care of them very well.  
 

 
Lilli  posted on the Airbnb forum that she wanted Airbnb to consider more various types of badges. Airbnb normally has one badge which 
is  “superhost”.  In  order  to  receive  the  superhost  badge,  the  host  will  have  to  meet  the  requirement  according  to  Airbnb  and  after  they  get  the 
badge  they  will  be  prioritized  to  access  to  some  special  features  such  as  priority  placement  which  guest  will  easily  notice  their  listing,  profile 
badge,  and  so  on.  However,  the  users  (from  the  online  and  interview  research)  thought that the badge experience was linear and uncorrelated to 
the  user’s  lifestyle.  For  example,  there  might  be  some  hosts  that  take  serious  action  toward  the  environment or some hosts that enjoy providing 
guests  with  the  rich  local  experience.  These  hosts  might  also  deserve  to  get some badges such as ecological host, or cultural host because it will 
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offer  the  users’  experience.  Especially  for  hosts,  they  can  pursue  the  badge  that  is  consistent  with  their  interests  and  guests  can enjoy choosing 
the hosts that value similar thing with them too.  
About  the  social  impact,  all  of  the  interviewed  hosts  agreed that they did not feel the social impact that much on Airbnb. Moreover, only 
some  of  them  were  aware  of  Airbnb  “open  homes  program”.  One of the design challenges is to increase the social impact, Airbnb itself puts the 
emphasis  on  increasing  the  social  impact  particularly  through  the  “open  homes”  program.  It  is  originally  designed  for  the  refugees that have to 
flee  from  their  country  due  to  the  insurgency, natural disaster, or political conflict. The open home's program will allow hosts on Airbnb to open 
their  lodging,  in  another  word,  provide  their  accommodation  to  the  refugee.  However,  the  program  seems  not  to  be  achievable  as  Airbnb  team 
expected. The hosts themselves also get disincentivized because they would not earn any income from that.  
 
 

 
 
 
 
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2. Platform design 
The  platform  designs  are  genuinely  important  for  Airbnb  in  order  to  retain  users  to  repeatedly  use  the  platform.  It  will  create  the 
experience  for  the  users.  For  instance,  most  of  the  users  may  prefer  the  platform  that  is  easy  to  comprehend.  The  platform  organizers  should 
design  to  make  their  platform  as  appropriate  as  much  as  they  could.  Moreover,  platform  design  also  important  on  reflect  how  great  of 
organization  planning  which  including  do  they  have  a  clear  value  proposition  for  their  customer  or  not  or do they have a great management for 
monetization  as  well  as  how  well  of  strategy  for  increasing  potential  to  impact  their  platform  such  as  how  could  they make the first interaction 
with customer, transform systems, and key to understand the platform model. 
 
2.1 Value Proposition 
    The  platform  provides  an  easy  access  and  wide  coverage  enables  travelers  to  rent  private  homes  depending  on  their  destinations. 
There  would  be  a  variety  of  choosing  their  travel  accommodation  with  over  1,500,000  listings  in  34,000  cities  and  190  countries  all  over  the 
world  that  allowed  guests  to  search  through  many  property  listings  and  then  book  the  one  that  appeals  most  to  them  as  well  as  gives  cheap 
options  to  travelers  to  stay  with  local  hosts.  Moreover,  the  platform  also  allowed  owners  to  list  their  space  earn  the  money  from  rented  which 
Airbnb  also  provides  insurance  to  listed  properties.  The  platform  also  includes  personal  profiles  as  well  as  a  rating  and  reviewing  system 
provides  information  about  the  host  and  guests.  The  platform  directly  connects  the  hosts  and  guests  in  individual  level  which  is  different  from 
the  hotel  that  seems  likely  to  provide  the  service  but  not  experience.  The  connections  between  the  users  would  create  the  huge  community  on 
Airbnb.  It  is  the  borderless  community  that  merges  the  variety  of  people  together,  it  would  not  only  gain  the  benefits  but  also  would  have  an 
opportunity to gain new experience of meeting new people and also ease of transaction. 
   
2.2 Platform Architecture 
There  are  two  ways  for  Airbnb’s  users  to  use  the  platform  which  are  on  website  and  application.  The  most  important  things  for  the 
platform  is  core  interactions  which  are  a  set  of  actions  that  need  your  customers  and  producers  to  engage  in  repeatedly  in  order  to  derive  the 
value  out  of  the platform. Airbnb had separated core interactions into three parts which are creation, consumption, and curation. For creation, the 
platform  allowed  users  to  create  the  listing  both  host  and  guest.  It  is  because  the  platform  needs  to  collect  the  information  of  the  users  which 
genuinely  important  in  the  process  of  booking  because  both  host  and  guest  need  to  exchange  their  information  for  trusting.  Next  is  the 
consumption,  in  this  part,  Airbnb  allowed  users  to  search  and view the listing, platforms enable interactions among producers and consumers. If 
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this  process  is  failed  would  create  unsatisfied  to  the  users  and  would  lose  in  the  consumption.  Lastly,  the  curation,  platform  that  fails  to 
encourage  Curation  gets loaded with poor quality and fails to stay relevant, useful and engaging, in turn leading to a mass exodus of users. Every 
single process is important in order for Airbnb to run it platform and could affect to each other if any process is failed. 
 
2.3 Data-informed Design 
 
Information  Host  Guest  

Full Name  Yes  Yes 

Email Address   Yes  Yes 

Confirmed phone number   Yes  Yes 

Identification information  No  Yes 

Payment information  No  Yes 

Rating   No  Yes 

  Figure 4 : Table represents the information collected by the platform 
 
Most  of  the  information  collected  by  Airbnb  is  for  the  security  reason.  Primarily,  both  hosts  and  guests  have  to  register  for  Airbnb 
membership.  The  information  that  they  have  to  fill  in  are  the basic information such as name, email, address, and etc. In the case of guests, they 
have  to  confirm  their  identity  by  sending  the  image  of  their  identification  card  or  passport.  As  Airbnb  aims  to  destigmatize  the  perception  that 
strangers  are  dangers,  therefore,  the  curation  is  inevitably  significant.  By  collecting  the  information  that  can  identify  the  users  will  make  the 
platforms more secure. As a result, it creates the trust for the users and ensures the quality of the platform in the long-term.  
Airbnb  has  been  running  collaboratively  with  different  stakeholders  particularly  the  payment  service  company.  One  of  the  outstanding 
features is that Airbnb offers the users the effective payment system. Meaning that the users (hosts) don’t have to wait long to receive the money. 
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Moreover,  the  guests  can  feel  secure  when  using  the  payment  system.  There  are  many third parties that provide the payment service on Airbnb. 
Thus, to collect the payment information will help Airbnb understand the users’ behavior which can improve the user’s experience.  
 
2.4 Openness and Rules 
Airbnb’s customer separates into main two types of customers which are hosts and guests. Hosts are the people who own property and
want to make some money by renting out their available space. Airbnb would allow them to have the ability to create a listing for their property
on Airbnb, add property details and set their own rent, moreover, check-in and check-out time as well which they can accept or reject a booking
after reading the reviews of the travelers or after going through his social profiles. Guests, guests are the people who book the listed available
spaces from local hosts. They have the option to search for a property by filtering them according to rent, amenities provided, location and can
book a space by paying through the portal. In addition, Airbnb also has a vast network of freelance photographers in all major cities of the world
who go to a location and click high-definition photographs of the property. The high-quality photographs get more responses and the freelance
photographers are paid by Airbnb directly.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2.5 ​Partner and Stakeholders 

Since  Airbnb  is  the  platform  that  aims to connect people, one of the fundamental and substantial characteristics is making the connection 
with  other  stakeholders  or  partners.  For  Airbnb,  the  stakeholders  are  mainly  the hosts (people who rent their spaces), the concern neighbors, the 
city  or  government  institution,  traditional  incumbents  (hotels  or  restaurants),  and  the  travelers  (guests).  To  describe  how  these  stakeholders 
influence Airbnb, start with the hosts (people who rent their assets) who want to maximize their profits so they do not prefer to have a lot of rules 
or  regulation  that  might disrupt them from getting the guests. Conversely, the concern neighborhoods pay attention to regulations that can ensure 
the  security,  order,  and  regularity  in  their  community.  The  city  or  government  institution  plays  a  role  in  imposing  the  policy  and collecting the 
taxes.  The  traditional  incumbents  such  as the existing hotels in the area might have to adjust their strategy in order to retain their income, or they 
can  even  join  Airbnb  as  well.  Lastly,  the  tourists  or guests are the ones who pays for getting the services and experience. Moreover, Airbnb also 
partners with the payment processors that will convenient the guests and hosts during their payment process.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 6 : Airbnb’s partners  
(Source : Airbnb.com) 
 
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2.6 ​Monetisation Strategy 

Airbnb offers a free listing to property owners and allows the travelers (guests) browse the listings to select the one that best suits their
needs. The booking and payment system will be done only on Airbnb. For example, the guests will have to send the message to hosts and
proceed the payment via Airbnb. It is because Airbnb tempts to ensure the security to both hosts and guests that they can properly proceed the
payment without any problem. Another significant reason is that by only allowing hosts and guests proceed the payment on Airbnb, it will
guarantee that Airbnb can charge or monetize the fee from the booking. Even though Airbnb offers the hosts free listings, it monetizes platform
through commission fee. Firstly, after the hosts finish their listing and set up the price, Airbnb will add 6-12% from the original price in which
will be appearing on the website. When the guests book the place and proceed the payment, Airbnb will receive 6-12% of the price that it
appeared on the website. After that, the money will be charged 3% for the payment and hosts will receive all the rest of the money. The reason
why Airbnb doesn’t charge the fee from host because it wants to keep the existing hosts, at the same time, encourages the new hosts to create
their listings. On the guest's side, the more expensive listing they book, the cheaper the fee will be charged. To clarify, if the guest books the
listing that costs 3$, that 3$ is actually already added up by 12% of the original price. On the other hand, if the listing is more expensive like 10$,
it might be added up only by 6% of the original price. By having this charging strategy, the guests that pay for the expensive listings can feel that
they actually pay less for the charges.

 
 
  Figure 7 : How Airbnb charges from hosts and guests 
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2.7. UX/UI analysis 

Although Airbnb’s existing User Interface has encouraged hosts and guests to state their specific wants and needs prior to meeting date,
the experience throughout staying duration can vary outside of the control of the platform. This means Airbnb’s UI is only capable of allowing
hosts and guests to input their information, not their agenda. So, when it comes to staying, users cannot rely on the platform’s aid to direct their
staying experiences anymore. Based on the data gained from observation and research, the pain points of users mostly came in the mid-staying
or post-staying period. For hosts, these pain points include; unsatisfactory feedback, lack of promotion (in terms of user tiers), and lack of
direction. Pain points for hosts often deal with post-hosting experience, equally for both personas. Therefore, the Airbnb UI lacks the capability
to deal with post-hosting experiences, apart from the user reviewing mechanism. This problem implies that Airbnb’s existing UI lacks the
features for Scaffolding phase.
However, since the mid-staying experience would be depending on user interactions, in addition to Airbnb’s existing user interface is
sufficiently well-developed for Onboarding phase, Airbnb should not take the Scaffolding features into UI development, because it might ruin
the existing features. Since mid-hosting and post-hosting user experience deal with user interactions, hosts are likely to be questioning on their
experience, impressions, and improvements. They may need a room for asking feedback, recommendations, and peer approval. It is observable
that many hosts have been using other platforms to post online queries about hosting experiences.

​3. UX/UI and Engagement Strategy

3.1 UX Research
First of all, it is best to identify different types of users and split them into sub-categories. Even though the main focus is users as host, it
is possible that there are different types of hosts, and that can cause the difference of goals and experience they have on the platform. Airbnb
proposes two main values for hosts; monetization of spaces, and connecting the world. While using the platform, hosts may focus only one of the
two, or focus both simultaneously. From this, the motivations for each type of hosts can be identified using the ‘Octalysis framework’.
From user-types research, there are 2 main personas for Airbnb hosts, which corresponds to Airbnb values proposition. One persona is
equipped with an intention or a goal on the platform that is income-based, focusing on using the platform to bring guests to rent their free spaces.
For convenience, this persona will be labeled as Persona 1. Another persona has a minor socially-based purpose. While seeking to accommodate
guests for income, also willing to develop relationship and exchange cultural knowledge with them. This will be referred to like Persona 2. These
two personas will be driven by different sets of motivations, but they may be appealed to the same user experiences in some aspects.
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Users with Persona 1, from the research, are focused on income returns from using the platform. They will have more economic views on
the platform, and they will considerably value time, money, and opportunity costs above other factors. The behavior of these users would be
ambitious, enthusiastic, and versatile. They are mostly appealed to comfortable guests, sound
negotiations, and avoid mistakes; these will affect what they value from the platform. Therefore, they
will be influenced more by extrinsic motivation. Hosts with this persona are likely to be the
middle-aged, busy worker and good with multi-tasking.
From Figure 7, users with Persona 1 will most likely be driven by external factors; badges,
money returns, positive reviews. They gain a strong sense of (Ownership) by utilizing their free
spaces to accommodate guests and gain income. They would prefer comfortable guests (Scarcity) and
avoid any complications that would in a way affect the hosting experience, which would affect review
rates and calibration for high-end user badges (Avoidance). They may also set a milestone to increase
their eligibility for being higher users which will benefit their values, such as obtaining Superhost
badges or maintaining a certain review rate (Accomplishment).

Users with Persona 2, from the research, will be different from earlier persona. They will
focus on other impacts of using the platform. These can vary different for individuals, but it is
possible to grasp the main core motivations. Because there are many processes throughout hosting duration, one may value other things than
money. These are often fit into experiences category, and they are focused on the journey than the returns. However, this does not imply that the
role of extrinsic motivators such as money and badges are diminished. It means that these users have a less economic view, but the more verbal
and social view. The behavior of these users would be open-minded, friendly, and relaxing. Therefore, they will be influenced better with
intrinsic motivation. Hosts with this persona are likely to be middle-aged to the elder, non-busy people, or traveler.

From Figure 8, users with Persona 2 will be driven by self. These will be encouraged with internal factors; learning, experiences,
excitement, and friendship. They would seek the (Meaning) of space utilization. They are willing to develop skills through the duration of
hosting (Empowerment). They can be influenced by friends doing the same thing, or be open to forming a friendship with guests
(Social-Influences). And they would be open to learning new things and other explorations from hosting experiences, from which depends on
how well they get along with guests for the duration (Unpredictability).
 12

Generally, users will begin from the same points, the Discovery phase. The Discovery
phase involves how the users can discover the platform. The Discovery phase for the
Airbnb platform itself will not be very complicated, because of the huge network Airbnb
already has. Once the Discovery phase is going through, users move on to the next phase,
Onboarding. Onboarding is a phase where the user is getting into the platform by going
through the UI and registration. Airbnb’s existing user interface is very good for
Onboarding phase. Although Airbnb collects a lot of data for what it does, the
well-developed UI made the process relatively convenient and engaging. Users (hosts)
usually complete Onboarding phase by successfully creating an account and the first
listing. But in relation to the phase and Airbnb hosts, Onboarding is not completed until
hosts have met guests and completed the hosting schedule. However, the experience that
users will gain from this part is not within the bound of Airbnb platform management.
Airbnb could only make hosts and guests mention their requirements and restrictions, not the experience itself.

After completion of Onboarding phase, users move to Scaffolding phase, and this is where complexity locates. The added design is
drafted to tackle the problem of hosts being misdirected to other platforms for accessing Airbnb related information and discussion. Once hosts
had done the hosting part and received the feedback, a pop-up that notifies them about Airbnb community forum will appear, which will work in
a way according to Figure 9.

This will be impactful, because hosts may have various reactions to their
post-hosting experiences. Airbnb community forum will be the place to handle these
reactions, leading the discussion, answering the queries, and create a feeling of being
welcomed to the community. Hosts will had their doubts and their experiences carried
out of the way, and eventually go back for another attempt at hosting. In fact, hosts
would likely join the community of such a warm and fruitful conversations (Oskam
 13

and Boswijk 2016). The process repeats until hosts have become attached to the platform and achieve their high-end user indications, which is an
aspect of Endgame phase, as visualized by Figure 10

3.3 Gamification/engagement strategy:

Airbnb’s existing UI design for Discovery and Onboarding phase is sufficiently great for new users. In relation diminishing the quality of
marginal improvement, further UI development will not create the much greater user experience. However, that does not imply that it is
impossible to improve the platform for the remaining phases. By analyzing the core drives and objectives, it is possible that the platform can be
improved in accordance to its missing material for Scaffolding and Endgame phase. After all, the challenge tasks are to retain hosts and create
social impact. Both challenges are focused on Scaffolding and Endgame. The following game techniques can be used to motivate hosts to go
through further phases. Before continuing on Scaffolding and Endgame, which will be focused on the integration of Airbnb’s community forum,
users should be driven to join the forum first. This can be done by boosting core drives for the Onboarding phase.

3.3.1 Onboarding
Onboarding phase for Airbnb platform itself suffices for a great user flow. The design challenge is to
retain hosts and create social impact. Therefore, after the identification of host pain points, it is worth the
attempt to develop a community forum and integrate its launch strategy with the onboarding phase of Airbnb
forum, as mentioned earlier. Onboarding Airbnb Forum will need the motivation from a core drive of each
motivation. ‘Black-hat’ motivation such as CD 7 and 8 are great for Onboarding phase, where users are
offered a path, which is claimed to be helpful to them, and they would not want to miss out on it. To retain
hosts, targets are hosts with pain point and frustration, then offer them something that can diminish these
pain points. It works like a storytelling where frustrated and helpless characters discover a sparkling gateway
to something mysterious and wonderful. However, they have to be affirmed that by entering that gateway,
there are meanings to it and that they are not changed into something completely alien and maintain
originality. CD 1 and 4 are things to aid these hypotheses, and it can reduce the drawbacks of ‘Black hat’
motivations from CD 7 and 8
 14

Designed Feature:​​ Integrating community forum to the onboarding process of Airbnb hosts. The process is done by developing a community
forum as a Water Cooler, and launch it by:
1)For Onboarding Users: UI appears after publishing the first listing
2)For existing users: UI appears through “Glowing Choice” whenever they view a review page, or the default page itself.

[Core Drive 1: Meaning] - Game Technique #24: Free lunch

After hosts had created their first listing, they can be “Called” to onboard Airbnb’s community forum using game techniques #24. Free
Lunch will be carried out by UI sequencing after the hosts have performed the desired action, created a listing. This UI will present hosts an
option to use their Airbnb account as a forum account and to visit Airbnb’s community forum. The Free Lunch in this manner will be in form of
a short-boosted visibility for their newly created queries on the forum webpage, should they have any questions in relation to hosting experience
during that moment. This is a form of integrating the forum itself into the onboarding phase of Airbnb hosts.

[Core Drive 1: Meaning] – Game Technique #10: Narrative

Followed by the previously mentioned Free Lunch, the UI may also inform the hosts that “the Call” is encouraging them to do something
meaningful. There are many instances that hosts (and even some guests) discontinue using Airbnb out of frustration and lack of direction. For
Airbnb, and most other games, the UI and platform developer may not take full responsibility in monitoring and guiding players to drag the
subjectively the best experience from the platform. The producer may not understand as much as the user. Users will individually craft their own
experiences based on how they use and feel the platform. Sharing unique experiences and tips learned from hosting is something meaningful that
other users will learn and acknowledge.

[Core Drive 4: Ownership] – Game Technique #75: Exchangeable Points

Hosts will have a sense of ownership if they have something unique to them and that is exchangeable with something uniquely different
from them. When it comes to discussions, each player has may have a unique opinion and experiences to express. This can be exchanged with
others too. Some people have a really strong experience and thoughts that they have the sense of ‘owning’ that privilege to that. Some hosts may
express how they are exclusively owning those important experiences.
 15

[Core Drive 5: Social Influences] – Game Technique #58: Conformity Anchor

Another way to strengthen the “Call” is to use Conformity Anchor. By presenting the ‘business metric’, the number of hosts, or even
‘Superhosts’ on Airbnb’s community forum. This will convince the hosts to use the forum, and observe what is available in it. Conformity
Anchor will attract hosts because they know that other hosts are using the forum for the sake of their services too.

[Core Drive 8: Avoidance] – Game Technique #84: FOMO Punch

FOMO Punch or ‘Fear of Missing out’ punch is a game technique used for telling the user that they might miss out something if they do
not try it out. This is an effective way for the forum to reach out to new users. Users will definitely miss out a lot of vital information and key
rules on hosting that are discussed and shared among hosts in the forum. There are hosts that do not use Airbnb forum or discuss and reflect on
their hosting experiences. In fact, a host who has learned from others will live a very different host life than those who are not forum users.

Scaffolding to Endgame
After Onboarding to both the platform and the forum, one of the mentioned pain point will diminish in relation to the gamification
techniques on Scaffolding phase. Scaffolding phase is the phase that the design challenge focuses on. Also, by integrating a forum into the
Scaffolding phase, the other design developments and game techniques can be applied to the platform and forum correspondingly. Also, the
burden of diminishing quality of marginal benefit from further development on Airbnb platform will not be as much. From now, the game
techniques will apply to both platform and community forum simultaneously, aimed at tackling the design challenge. Note that Scaffolding and
Endgame phase in the context of Airbnb host will rely much on ‘White-hat’ motivation,
which are CD 1, 2, 3, and 5.
Designed Feature(s):
- Sets of new badges, with different sets of requirements to obtain them.
- Increase Open-home program attentions by narratives, leaderboards, mission-based user
journeys, and possibility involve third-party organization such as news reporting on refugee
scenarios, or even Facebook.
- Renovate Airbnb forums with Airbnb data, feedback mechanics, and better UI.
 
 16

[Core Drive 1: Meaning] - Game Technique #10: Narrative 

One  of  the  design  challenges  is  to  increase  the  Airbnb  social  impact.  This  and  the  existing  feature  of  Airbnb,  Openhomes,  can  be 
improved  with  core  drive  analysis.  The  narrative  can  be  the  useful  game  technique  to  motivate  hosts.  It  is  to  make  sure  that  hosts  are  doing  a 
meaningful  thing  and  they  know it. Narrative of a story of how unfortunate things may happen, and situations where people become refugees are 
not  very  common.  Backed-up  with  few  statistical  data  of  refugees,  hosts  may  feel the need to help, and they would do so if circumstances serve 
them, because it is meaningful not for them but for the platform as well. This information can be shown through other game techniques. 
 
[Core Drive 2: Accomplishment] - Game Technique #2: Achievement Symbols 
  To  retain  hosts,  it  is  worth  the  attempt  to  create  more  ‘User  Journey’ and more ‘high-end users’. There are different types and behaviors 
of  hosts,  but  only one high-end user status at the moment, ‘Superhost’. By creating more badges and symbols, hosts can specialize in the journey 
they are specialized for. These are new badge designs that are possible: 
Ecological host: Hosts that have a considerable response and review rate, while specialize in making their space and hosting agenda eco-friendly. 
- Festival host: ​Hosts that have a considerable response and review rate, while specialize in adapting current local festival into their hosting 
themes.  The  host  that  make  sure  guests  learn  about  the  local  cultural  practice  in  festivals  and  events  of  the  certain period. For example, 
hosts who arrange Songkran themed listing and made sure guests learned about the cultures of their local place. 
- Socially-minded  host:  ​Hosts  that  engage  in  social  friendly  activities  and  contributed  to  Airbnb  social  events  and  campaigns,  and  the 
social feature of Airbnb such as ‘Open-home program’ or something as simple as helping out new hosts in the forum. 
- These  are  examples  of  new  user  journeys  and  high-end  users.  It  may  also  act  as  an  intrinsic  motivation  for  users  through Core Drive 3: 
Empowerment,  because  the  user  can  develop  their  user  level  in  various  ways  and  in  a  way  they  are  comfortable.  In  addition, these new 
badges  are  not  as  credible  as  ‘Superhost’,  but  they  can  be  collected  and  aimed  for  during  users  journey  to  superhosts,  giving  an  added 
sense  of  accomplishment.  The  user  journey  can  also  be  made  completely  different  from  ‘Superhost’, by making it a mini-quest based or 
point collection-based. 
 
 
 
 
 17

[Core Drive 2: Accomplishment] - Game Technique #3: Leaderboard 

  The  leaderboard  can  be  a  huge  motivation,  and  create  a  sense  of  competition.  When  Scaffolding,  users  are  likely  to  use  forum  and  the 
platform  simultaneously.  The  leaderboard  can  be  data  that  influence the user to create an additional addictive goal. A leaderboard can use a data 
that  is  a  business  metric  such  as  a  number  of  listing,  review  rate.  For  example,  a  forum  main  page  can  have  a  side  post  that  shows  “Top  5 
countries  that  have  contributed  to  ‘Open-home  program’”  using  the  responsiveness  rate  to a certain ‘call’ to the open-home scenario. It can also 
be  a  “Top  10  countries  with  the  highest  mean  review  rate”.  There  are  many  game techniques in Core Drive 2 to be used. Hosts need to feel that 
they  have  accomplished  something  and  their  actions  are  approved  and  rewarded  not  only  by  the  guests  but  the  platform  as  well.  They  can 
continue doing what they have done if it is something people will acknowledge. 
 
[Core Drive 3: Empowerment] - Game Technique #11 - Plant Pickers 
    Plant  Pickers  is  a  game  technique  that  encourages  creativity and specializations. If there are many things to do while being in the Airbnb 
community,  users may not be able to do everything Airbnb UI offers to them. However, they can arrange things they want to do and specialize in 
it.  For  example,  hosts  can  choose  to  be  relatively  eco-friendly  people, and they can be creative in their forum activities like posting a forum that 
provides  essential  information  about  sustainability.  Not  all  people  may  do  this,  but  it  is  still  one of the options, and those who choose to do this 
will  feel  empowered  because  they  have  described  an  experience  of  doing  what  they  are  passionate  about  with the space Airbnb given for them. 
With  more user journeys, hosts may not aim to promote themselves as high as ‘Superhosts’, but they can promote themselves through minor user 
journey of choice and still contribute to the network. 
 
[Core Drive 3: Empowerment] - Game Technique #12 - Instant Feedback 
  Instant  Feedback  can  be  influential  as  well,  in  a  similar  way  to  how  ‘Facebook  Like’  works.  Users  are  empowered  when  they receive a 
feedback  on  what  they  do,  but  a  feedback  does  not  have  to  be  a  long  comment  of  criticisms  and  reception,  they  can  be  very  instantaneous.  Its 
function  will  favor  the forum more, which is a discussion. It is motivating for people to have their opinions and ideas heard by people and reflect 
on  it.  Instant  Feedback  in  this  context  may  be  a  similarly  “Like”  counts  on  forum  posts  and  comments.  It  can  also  be  a  “Bookmark”  counts, 
where people deem the topic useful and bookmark it for later read. 
 
 
 18

[Core Drive 4: Ownership] - Game Technique #83 - Alfred Effect 

  This  game  technique  is  very  important  in  terms  of  development  and  competition.  It  is what makes a platform dominant over others. The 
Alfred  Effect  is  when  a  platform  or  an  application  is  very  amusing  and  unique  that  there  cannot  be  a  close  substitution.  One  of  the  problem  is 
hosts  switching  to  other  platforms  for  discussion,  or  even  hosting  activities  itself.  Is  it  not  strange  that  Facebook,  a  platform  for  vast  forms  of 
communication  and  networking,  is  competitively  advantaged  for  a  discussion  about  Airbnb  hosting  experience  that  the  forum  itself?  Airbnb 
platform  already  has  the  Alfred  Effect  because  of  its  competitive  advantage,  but  it  can  develop  a  forum  to  bring  back  user  base  to  where  they 
belong.  After  all,  Airbnb  forum  would  naturally  be  embedded  with  Airbnb-related  data  than  other  platforms  with  a  different  purpose.  Other 
developments  can  lead  to Alfred Effect on Airbnb forum. Would users rather use Airbnb forum, which has an Airbnb data-driven mechanics and 
leaderboards over Facebook and Pantip, whose mechanics are solely based on Q&A, and commenting activities? 
 
[Core Drive 5: Social Influence] - Game Technique #55 - Water Cooler 
  As  mentioned  earlier,  hosting  experience  is  not  Airbnb  can  predict  and  direct.  Anything  post-booking  will  be  solely  based  on  the 
interaction  of  host  and  guests.  Only  the  users  will  know  how  the  experience  was, and they can discuss it with other hosts who may have similar 
or different hosts. Airbnb Community Forum will definitely be a great water cooler. Hosts talking with hosts will learn a lot more. 
 
[Core Drive 5: Social Influence] - Game Technique #61 - Mentorship 
  Mentorship  is  a  motivation  for  both  high-end  hosts  and new hosts. For discussion about the experience, customer services cannot help in 
a  long-run.  Incentivize  hosts  to  mentor  beginner  users  on  the  forum  by  giving  eligibility  for  the  socially-minded  host  can  benefit  users  both 
ways.  For  mentors,  they  may  be  motivated  with  CD  3  Empowerment  as  well.  They  can  develop  communication  skills  and  befriending  skills 
from mentoring beginner users. 
 
[Core Drive 5: Social Influence] - Game Technique #22 - Group Quests 
With  leaderboard  showing  countries  contribution  to  the  platform  in  various ways can create a sense of challenge for a group/country. To 
top  in a leaderboard that uses collective data from a country is not something that an individual can do. Also, the platform can also involve group 
quests  into  some  user  journey.  For  example,  one  of  the  missions  to  complete  to  progress  further  into  ‘Ecological  host’  is  to  bring  a guest to do 
something fun and eco-friendly. 
 19

[Core Drive 7: Curiosity] - Game Technique #48 - Mini-Quests 

   Airbnb  can  invent  few  sets  of  mini-quests  to  motivate  users  and  give them a direction they are never aware of. These mini-quests can be 
randomized  in  a  form  of  missions  to  progress  to  some  high-end  users  or  a  forum  activity.  Users  will  feel  the  curiosity  in  missions  and  keep 
themselves engaged through Scaffolding and Endgame phase. 
 
[Core Drive 8: Avoidance] - Game Technique #50 - Sunk Cost Prison 
  Hosts  that  had  put  much  effort  into  developing  their  profile,  badges,  and relationship with other hosts will look back at their journeys on 
the  platform.  It  would  be  extremely  unfortunate  and  wasteful  if  all  of  that  progress  is  suddenly  put  to  a  halt  and  dismissed  by  abandoning  the 
platform.  After  all  the  utilization of all designed features, a branched attempt and effort into the platform, hosts may feel attached to the platform 
more than how they do currently. 
 
 
 20

Conclusion
Since Airbnb platform’s UI and features are very user-friendly and great for information collecting, it is good for when users are newly
engaged (Discovery and Onboarding). However, Airbnb’s UI and features are not engaging in a long-run for hosts (Scaffolding and Endgame).
Hosts are not sufficiently motivated throughout the period after all information and actions are delivered. In addition, Airbnb’s platform is only
accountable for its data transfers and arranging hosts and guests meeting, not the accommodation experience itself. It is very challenging for
Airbnb to develop a feature that aids hosting experience without interfering other experiences and previous user flow. However, with the varying
experience that depend a lot of users instead of features, hosts may not need much effort from the features, but social exchanges with other users.
Hosts need spaces for the discussion on their interests and experiences. It is something that is not in the bound of customer service and platform
provider. It is proven as it is visible that hosts had found their ways to arrange many discussions outside Airbnb platform. Many hosts had
reported using Facebook, Twitter, and other public Q&A forums to discuss their experiences. Another problem indicates that many hosts had
faced difficulties in promoting themselves to a greater user. Not only the requirements are strict (which is great for security and credibility
measures), there are circumstances that can discourage them from working on self-promotion, such as unfair reviews from guests.
This problem can be tackled by creating multiple user journeys and design features that boost the confidence of hosts to work on
self-promoting activities with the platform. New badges and options to feedback on hosts actions will be beneficial to hosts, and keep them
engaged to the platform. This solutions had been analyzed through ‘Octalysis Framework’ and had been designed to drag the missing core drives
for target users. However, these solutions cannot be implemented out of thin air, which will harm the existing UI and existing user experience.
When it comes to this specific category of the platform, where a lot of data and subjective matters are exchanged, users need a discussion space
for directing and improving their respective user journeys. Airbnb Community Forum will be the key to solutions for Airbnb design challenges.
Airbnb Community Forum has its innate advantage of being original data-driven, and non-various user-types over other platforms which hosts
had been finding their ways too. If Airbnb Community Forum is developed in a user-friendly manner like existing UI for the main webpage, it
can act as a retaining factor for hosts. In addition, other important features can be co-applied to both the platform and the forum simultaneously,
and data exchange between two contents creates a lot of opportunity for future new features or even older ones like ‘Open-home programme’.
When one does something meaningful and impactful without valuables as returns, they only need security and acknowledgment to motivate
them to do such a thing.
Additionally, it is prominent that Airbnb has a lot of opportunities for advertisement and collaboration. Airbnb is eligible to implement various
features on itself with the help of third-party companies. It can also run a campaign with the help of its users. After all, Airbnb users are not only
 21

exchanging service and money but the relationship and warming experiences. Airbnb has shown its first step towards this point with
Open-homes, but it did not receive much effort and attention. When it comes to Open-homes, it has to deal with a lot of elements and
externalities; be it security concerns for hosts willing to do it, or their costs compared to potential gains. These problems cannot be solved with
Airbnb services alone, as it may also involve some political concerns. If Airbnb only keeps this liability to themselves, Open-home is hardly a
possible programme. But if Airbnb involves other organizations, the possibility expands further. For example, the top 5 hosts who contributed to
Open-homes program that are listed on the board may be eligible for campaign attendance, seasonal prizes, and documentary interviews for
broadcasting channels. This way, Airbnb not only encourage and empower them but also promote its platform on a larger scale. As for
monetization opportunity, if Airbnb has successfully improved its forum and has a considerable number of active forum users, Airbnb would
have countless opportunities to run advertisements on the forum.
 22

Reference

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 23

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