New Feature: Home Office Space Rentals
AirBnB App
Role: UX / UI Designer
Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Miro, Whimsical, Google Forms, Maze
Timeframe: 4 weeks in 2022
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Background
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe.
Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and one-of-a-kind activities that make it possible for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way.
Challenge
To create a user friendly feature for searching office space rentals that compliments AirBnB’s existing app.
Solution
From research to high-fidelity design and prototyping, I created a way for users to search and book office space rentals that is compatible with AirBnB's current flow and branding.
This is a conceptual project and not affiliated with AirBnB.
Home Office Space Rentals - Why create this feature?
Home office’s play a significant role in today’s family and work environment. In the past couple of years, largely due to the pandemic, more people than ever are now working from home. As the number of people working from home continues to increase, the need for flexible office spaces is growing.
A large number of people have working spaces in their homes that they are not utilizing full time. Giving them an opportunity to easily list their space and make income would be a benefit to Hosts, while creating more listings, traffic, and revenue for AirBnB. Renters would have the benefit of renting a space without a sleeping option and accommodation amenities, reducing the user price point. Hosts have the advantage of flexibly listing their space to suit their personal needs all while creating more personal income.
With AirBnB’s current level of users and obvious brand trust, the feature would be a natural avenue for users searching and listing office spaces.
Understand
Research Plan
With the goal to learn how users currently search office spaces online so that we can create a suitable platform.
Methodologies
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Customer Survey / Interviews
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Market Research
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Competitive / Comparative Research of competitors
Research Objectives
To determine:
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The user's process of finding an office space online
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What users are looking for in a space (to determine filter options)
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What users’ pain points are when searching for a space
Participants
We will talk with people in the following behavioural categories, being sure to include a range of career stages, age ranges, genres, and ethnicities in our target industry:
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People who currently work from home
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People who are interested in renting an office space
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People who have rented office spaces in the past
Research Debrief: Customer Survey / Interviews
In the office space rental industry, users want to search/find suitable office spaces in an uncomplicated, efficient, safe way.
Needs
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To be efficient when working from a home office
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To present themselves more professionally
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For the space to be in a suitable location
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Affordable price
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For the space to be comfortable “I would have kept the rental if it felt as nice as my home office space”
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To easily be able to rent an office space short term when travelling
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Simplified work space - easier to concentrate
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Cleanly/sanitized place (in regards to covid)
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Flexibility to come and go / make their own schedule
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Social aspect - getting out of own home and connecting with others
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Ad listings are free to post and view
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Ability to network at a commercial office space
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Quiet space to concentrate
Motivations
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Bright, modern UI
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No lease option
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Can rent short term or certain days of the week
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Price dependent on numbers of days office is used instead of a monthly rate
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Other users’ reviews
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Trusted website
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Privacy in the space
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Amenities at work space
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Internet speed
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Separate bathroom, entrance, kitchen amenities
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Available parking
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Can dress for comfort if they want
Frustrations
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Too many ways to search for office spaces
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Very time consuming to contact all suitable listings “It takes time to research and find the right fit”
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When listings are already rented and user cannot tell from the ad
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Delays in replies / cannot instant book
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Suitable / “good” listings are rented very quickly
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Being “locked” into a lease
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Unsafe listings - not sure if they can trust the ad or not “Craiglist (and gumtree) often have some shady postings”
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Not a suitable place at own home to work
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Can be very expensive to rent long term
Market Research and Competitive / Comparative Research of Competitors
Another competitor several survey participants mentioned using was WeWork - an American commercial real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces for technology startups and services for other enterprises. WeWork designs and builds physical and virtual shared spaces and office services for entrepreneurs and companies. They do not offer home office space rentals, however they do have flexible booking options and social spaces for personas seeking these characteristics.
Personas
After gathering the necessary research data, I defined 4 persona types who would find benefit by using this new feature on the AirBnB app: the Relieved Homebody, Overworked Parent, Autonomy Seeker, and Lonely Zoomer. I then created the user Superwoman Sarah as the overworked parent persona to represent the common goals, behaviours, and struggles that were identified through the user research.
Explore
Ideate
Next it was necessary to identify AirBnB’s App Map and information architecture in order to model the new feature off of and create complimentary flows. The diagram below is the company's current flow for searching. To embed searching for office space rentals, the following alterations would be recommended.
Refer to research to create new filter options (surveys and competitive analysis)
Design card similar to existing ones
Wireframes
Based on AirBnB's existing search flow, user research and competitive analysis, wireframes of the new search flow were created. For the purpose of usability testing, a specific search scenario was invented based on the focused persona type.
Changes to Existing AirBnB Calendar
Because AirBnB's current calendar is booking stays with a start and end date, it had to be modified for the purpose of booking office spaces. Based on user research, people wanted the option of choosing certain days of the week (ie, only book the office space on Monday and Wednesday). They also expressed interest in having specific days repeated weekly or monthly, with an 'end date' option. These changes are reflected below.
AirBnB's Current Calendar Screen
Calendar Screen Altered for Home
Office Space Searching
Task 1: Find office space rentals in Tofino BC for Jan 24-28
Home Screen > Where are you going Screen > What are you looking for Screen > Calendar Screen > Who’s come Screen
Task 2: Choose wifi speed and self check-in in the amenities
Map search Screen > Amenities Screen
Task 3: Find and book the Studio Suite
Map search Screen > Destination Screen > Check-out Screen
Participants: 5 - 7 participants, all genders, 25-50 years old who work/have worked from home
Test Goal: The user is able to complete the flow with no/minimal issues
Materialize
Method: Usability Testing
Test Objectives:
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To understand how easily users can search and book a home office space
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To identify any errors users encounter during the check-out process
Usability Summary & Recommendations
Insights:
When observing participants during the usability test, it was apparent that the new flow is complimentary to AirBnB's existing app design. The participants had a high rate of task completion and the comments on the UI was of approval and satisfaction.
A stumbling block for some participants was not on the design itself, but the wording of Task #2 on usability test. Some felt confused when searching for "Studio Space" and tried to search via the "type of place" button. They did not realize it was the name of one of the listings. Further details are in the Summary Report and the Test Participants Report.
Top Recommendations:
“It feels 100% native to Airbnb's design. I felt like I was using the real app!”
“The question with Studio Suite was a bit confusing. I thought the prompt wanted me to go into “Type of places”. Did not know it was the name of the actual place. Other than that, great job! I had an easy time doing all of the tasks.”
High Fidelity Prototype Screens
AirBnB App Screens Redesigned with Office Space Rental Feature
I'm Flexible Screen altered to include
Office Spaces
Profile Screen for Office Spaces
"Find an office space" card added
Office Space Amenities Screen
AirBnB Home Screen Altered to Promote Office Space Rentals
Conclusion & Reflection
I initially became interested in the idea of people renting out their office spaces after several discussions with friends who had recently gone through the process of finding an appropriate office space online. They identified many pain points they had with the process and it left me thinking, "how can this be a more enjoyable experience for people?".
After much brainstorming and research, I discovered there were some people listing their home office spaces and detached buildings (not particularly ideal for accommodation rental for various reasons), on sites like craigslist, kijiji, etc. to people wanting a space to work during the day. After going through the tedious process of primary research and booking one of these listings, I identified many key areas for improvement. Why was this process so slow, time consuming, and demanding?
AirBnB seemed like a natural fit for offering home office space rentals. The company has worked tirelessly to make the concept of staying in another person's home feel comfortable, safe, and a unique experience compared with traditional bookings. I personally feel they have the platform and capabilities to make home office space rentals portrayed in a similar light.