As part of a larger growth strategy, a globally-known online marketplace for hosting and booking vacation rentals launched a new offering that allowed for renting just one bedroom within a host’s residence – a category that has been promoted as an affordable option to whole-home rentals, where a room is rented within a private home – appealing to younger travelers on a budget.

To accompany this new category, the company developed a feature on their app that captures personality-type information to help hosts and guests get to know one another and feel comfortable with the booking. However, this new feature opens the door to equity challenges with biases, which the team wanted to appropriately manage and explore through this project.

To support the development of these new features, CMB partnered with this client to conduct foundational research to explore what key information hosts and guests would like to know about each other, as well as an understanding of the lived experiences of people of color guests and the impact that these profiles may have on biases towards Asian, Black, and Hispanic guests.

CMB designed a three-phase, multi-methodology study, leveraging qualitative and quantitative approaches to deliver critical. We included a diverse mix of respondents across Guest and Hosts to explore opportunities and watch outs for the rollout of the feature.

Our work has supported the rapid growth this new category: capturing the Gen Z market, attracting new hosts, promoting a perception of affordability and accessibility, cultivating the connection between hosts and guests, and potentially encouraging repeat visits – and more.