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 Stays relies on converting people who may be unfamiliar with marketplace lodging into confident guests who complete a first booking and have a stay experience strong enough to return. First-time guests face distinct friction: understanding what Airbnb offers versus hotels or OTAs, trusting hosts and listings, navigating fees and house rules, choosing the right stay, and knowing what support exists if something goes wrong.

In this metrics interview, define what “success” means for Airbnb Stays when serving first-time guests. The scope should cover the guest journey from discovery and search through booking, pre-trip preparation, the stay itself, post-stay sentiment, and early signs of repeat behavior. Your metrics should be useful for product teams deciding whether changes improve first-time guest outcomes without harming host health or marketplace quality.

The experience should consider:

- Clear definition of the first-time guest segment and the denominator for each metric.

- Funnel instrumentation across search, listing views, booking attempts, confirmations, cancellations, check-in, stay completion, and post-stay feedback.

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

- Trust, safety, support, and dispute-resolution signals that are especially important for new users.

- Marketplace guardrails, including host experience, listing quality, availability, cancellations, and review integrity.

- Short-term conversion metrics versus longer-term retention, loyalty, and brand trust indicators.

- How to distinguish guest friction from supply constraints, seasonality, pricing, or external travel demand shifts.

- Decision usefulness: which metrics would guide product launches, experiments, and operational interventions.

The goal is to produce a thoughtful metrics framework that helps Airbnb evaluate whether Stays is successfully serving first-time guests, while balancing guest confidence, host outcomes, marketplace quality, and sustainable growth.