Define success metrics for Stays serving first-time guests

Problem Statement Description

Product context: Airbnb is a travel marketplace connecting guests and hosts; its products include stays, experiences, host tools, guest booking, trust and safety, payments, and reviews.

Airbnb wants to understand whether its Stays product is successfully serving guests who are booking or attempting to book on Airbnb for the first time. This segment may have different needs than repeat guests: they may be less familiar with search, listing quality signals, host communication, fees, cancellation policies, safety expectations, and what makes Airbnb different from hotels or other travel platforms.

In this metrics interview, define what “success” should mean for first-time guests using Airbnb Stays. Focus on metrics that help the team evaluate the full guest journey, from landing and search through booking, stay completion, post-stay satisfaction, and likelihood of returning. Your answer should be specific enough that a product team could instrument, monitor, and use the metrics to make decisions.

The experience should consider:

- How to define a “first-time guest” and the denominator for each metric

- Key funnel stages such as discovery, search, listing view, booking request, payment, confirmation, stay completion, and review

- Guest trust and confidence signals, including cancellations, disputes, customer support contact, and safety-related issues

- Quality of the first stay experience, not just whether a booking occurred

- Cohorts by geography, trip type, platform, acquisition channel, supply type, and guest intent

- Marketplace guardrails such as host experience, booking quality, fraud, cancellation burden, and long-term retention

- Instrumentation needs across web, app, host messaging, payments, support, and post-stay feedback

- How the metrics would help Airbnb decide whether first-time guest experience improvements are working

The goal is to propose a clear, balanced success measurement framework for Airbnb Stays serving first-time guests, including primary success metrics, supporting diagnostic metrics, and guardrails that reflect both guest outcomes and marketplace health.