The Airbnb Ride
CLIENT: Jedi Jones; real estate firm
MY ROLE: UX Designer & Researcher
TOOLS: WordPress, Brizy, Google Analytics, Ubersuggest
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
The Airbnb Ride is a website resource for current and prospective short-term rental hosts.
CHALLENGE:
Most short-term rental sites are geared towards the investor. It is very difficult to get practical information about short-term rental hosting.
PROPOSED SOLUTION:
Create a dedicated site for short-term rental hosts and potential hosts to guide them on how to rent profitable spaces in their own homes.
Exploring the Short-term Rental Market
Real estate is one of my interests and I had always been curious about short-term rentals. I had heard this was a viable way to earn additional income. This was a side gig that could be done without leaving my home. Unfortunately, there was very little information online so I was unsure of exactly what I needed to do in order to get started.
I feared there was a huge learning curve ahead!
Short-term rental information available online
I searched online for any information on how to start and operate short-term rentals. The sites that I was able to find were very limited in scope. It was hard to find insight that was pragmatic. From this online review, 3 main shortfalls surfaced in the information that was readily available.
Online Information Shortfalls:
Discovering additional sources of info
Because the websites that were available left major gaps in information in regards to short-term rentals, I wanted to tap into more personal sources to see what I could learn from actual hosts. I sought out short-term rental hosts as another source of potential information. There were 3 main groups of people with which I was able to communicate.
Brand New Hosts
I had neighbors who were just starting out in Airbnb. We were all on the "learn-as-you-go" train. No one really knew what to expect with that first booking.
Online Social Groups
Facebook proved to be a decent source of information. However, more often than not, responses can be snarky or sarcastic making it difficult to get usable information.
Established Local Hosts
Airbnb forbids hosts to communicate with one another via the platform. The only way to speak with other hosts is through word of mouth. Even then, most are very closed with their information since you are direct competition.
Developing a user persona
From the research above, I created a few different user personas to better understand who may benefit from creating a source of information specifically dedicated towards helping hosts with short-term rentals.
29 years old
Single, Hispanic male
Customer Service Operations Specialist
Salt Lake City, UT
Meet Brian, Trying to make it happen
Goals & Needs
- Wants to make extra cash, but does not want to have to spend money on extra schooling
- Can't afford his mortgage payment on his customer service salary and has to dip into savings every month
- Wants to be his own man and accomplish monetary independence without having to rely solely on an employer
Frustrations
- Brian has tried stocks and bitcoin but lost money with both
- Works hard at his job, but it doesn't pay enough for the lifestyle he wants
- Does not want to waste more money trying to figure out how to make extra cash
Motivations
- He wants to be able to go back to contributing to his savings instead of taking money out of it every month
- His lease is going to be up soon on his car and he would like to upgrade into a nicer vehicle
- Extra income from short-term rentals would alleviate the stress of coming up short for house payments
Activities
- Loves building custom bicycles
- Likes weekend camping trips with biking trails
- Spends 40+ hours at the office getting overtime to increase his paycheck
74 years old
Married, white male
Retired; Airbnb Host
St. Augustine, Florida
Meet Dennis, The Energetic Retiree
Goals & Needs
- Wants to maximize profit on vacation home
- Wants to be able to continue to use vacation home for his own use at his leisure
- Eager to learn more about hosting to achieve top reviews
Frustrations
- Recently started renting his home on Airbnb, but the support from the Airbnb company has been awful
- Had an unpleasant guest recently and he would like to know how to protect himself better
- Does not know any hosts to compare notes with
Motivations
- Likes to stay busy, especially with money-making side gigs
- Would like to get a short-term rental system in place to open up more units
- His town is seeing more tourists visit and he would like to take advantage while the market is hot
Activities
- Loves golfing
- Heavily involved in charity for cancer
- Enjoys fishing
39 years old
Single, mixed-race, Transgender Female
Singer
Atlanta, GA
Meet Sasha, The World Traveler
Goals & Needs
- Has a big show she wants to attend in Brazil next year and she needs to save up the cash for her ticket
- Wants the flexibility to rent to others on her own terms and not be tied down to a lease
- Needs someone to split the bills, but she does not to have another roommate
Frustrations
- Hates when roommates get territorial over her place
- Super busy with her singing career so there is not much time to find additional ways of making money
- Does not like to leave her home empty when she travels for work. Likes for someone to always be present to discourage break-ins.
Motivations
- Loves meeting new people
- Determined to find an alternative to roommates
- Sasha books many singing events around the world, but they often don't pay for her transportation. She would like her side gigs to cover the costs.
Activities
- Going to improv classes
- Addicted to boba tea
- Often volunteers at local youth LGBTQIA centers and animal shelters
The User Personas helped me to understand who would benefit from the site
I surely was not the only person disappointed and confused by the lack of practical information out there for short-term rentals. I toyed around with the idea of developing a site that would be dedicated to helping current and future hosts. The 3 areas below represent the target market for the site.
People looking for a new side hustle
Many are interested in finding new opportunities to add a little or a lot to their bank accounts. Information regarding short-term rentals would be of great value to this group to see if this was a feasible side hustle for them.
Prospective Airbnb hosts
Many people have a spare room or extra space they would like to rent to others, but they don't know how to go about it. Prospective short-term rental hosts need a space they can go to for pragmatic advice.
Current hosts looking to gain insight
Even after you welcome your first guest, the learning never stops. There is always more to information you need to know when it comes to short-term rental hosting.
The Airbnb Ride was born
From the information I gathered above, it was clear there was a need for a website that could provide useful, practical information to prospective and current short-term rental hosts.
The name "The Airbnb Ride" represents the adventure hosts take on when welcoming strangers into their own homes. There may be some fun times, could be some low moments, and from time to time - a wild ride!
The image below is the original home page:
The Low-Fidelity version of the site was made live. In it's initial phase the site had the categories below:
Getting Started
Tips and how-to's on how to get started as
a short-term rental host.
Who's Knocking at my Door?
Anecdotal stories that discussed both positive and negative experiences from a host perspective.
Turning the Tables
Anecdotal stories and tips for hosts whenever traveling.
Usability Testing
Participants were asked to look at The Airbnb Ride and give their general opinions. They were also asked to find information on specific topics.
- General Flow / UI
How is the overall look of the site? Is the messaging clear?
- Ease of finding Information
Can the users easily navigate to the topics they want to know about? Is the information presented in a logical format?
- Usefulness of Content
Does the site provide hosts and potential hosts with the information they need to run a successful venture?
Findings
Continued Research
I wanted to dive a little deeper into the SEO and analytics of The Airbnb Ride as well as the competitor sites. Google analytics and Ubersuggest are both tools that allow insight into site traffic.
Google Analytics
Ubersuggest
GOOGLE ANALYTICS SCREEN SHOT:
UBERSUGGEST SCREEN SHOT:
Site Updates
From the feedback during usability testing, the messaging on the home page needed to be changed. The changes were simple, but the few words that were added helped to identify the site intent.
The words "For Hosts, By Hosts" was added to show that this was a site specifically for hosts and not guests.
In addition, a call-to-action was added. This CTA served two purposes. It helped to gather email address to aid it future email marketing campaigns. It also gave further insight to the site's purpose since it described some of the information you would receive by subscribing.
Updated home page:
Focus on Search Engine Optimization
The first instinct for many of the participants that tested the site was to Google topics as opposed to exploring the site. I knew I needed to place more emphasis on SEO strategy. Both Google Analytics and Ubersuggest were studied to determine trending toppings in short-term rentals.
Many articles were added to the site that focused on the top ranking keywords. These keywords were in high demand because they were topics that were commonly searched.
In addition, new articles contained keywords that were related to the top ranking keywords. These related keywords may not have the same strong web presence; however, these keywords have less competition from similar sites making it easier for The Airbnb Ride to be ranked by Google.
Streamline Site Focus
Remove "Turning the Tables"
From the feedback that was given through testing, hosts and potential hosts were interested in practical information on running their own short-term rentals. They were not coming to the site for travel tips. Many other sites existed that focused on travel. It did not make sense to have the direction of the site so varied. The page titled "Turning the Tables" that was dedicated to host travel was removed. The site needed to have a clear, central focus.
Continue "Who's Knocking at My Door?"
The page "Who's Knocking on my Door" added fun anecdotal stories about hosting. These real-life scenarios featured both good and bad times to show the array of experiences one could have while hosting. These types of stories were not being searched for so it was more difficult for these articles to contribute directly to web traffic.
These hosting stories, however, did encourage users to click through to the site with email marketing. The research showed that users enjoy reading these colorful tales. When subscribers received these stories in their inboxes, there was a high click-through rate. Therefore, these types of articles would continue to be added to The Airbnb Ride, but would not receive the same priority as posts giving information on getting started. The practical advice needed to be the main message.
Continued Site Iterations
Categories were added to help with information discovery
Persistent use of SEO tools gave way to areas of focus for short-term rentals. The categories listed below are a few of the areas The Airbnb Ride focuses on to help hosts and potential hosts navigate the world of hosting.
Pets
- Accepting pets on your listing
- Hosting while owning pets
Safety
- How to select guests
- How to protect yourself and your home
Reviews
- How the review process works
- What to do if you receive a bad review
Essential Products
- Cleaning your way to a 5-star review
- Why duvets are a must and comforters are old news
Guides & Checklists
As information is added to the site, guides and checklists have been created to help users access the information they need when they need it.
It can be cumbersome to search Google or individual sites topic-by-topic. Organizing the information into usable chunks that often follow chronological order help to utilize the tips when they need them.
Below are a few of the guides that have been created for users to help with their short-term rental hosting journeys.
What's Next?
Make Site More Robust
The learning is never over when it comes to hosting. The site will continue to keep up with the latest information to help hosts and prospective hosts operate at their best.
Add Additional Guides
As the available information grows, it will be necessary to reorganize it into manageable chunks. This will lead the way to updated and new guides covering various aspects of short-term rental hosting.
Build Out Products
A lot of work goes in to prepping for guests. Necessary products includes everything from cleaning supplies to home decor. This presents opportunity to focus on affiliate marketing as well as new product design.