Host view: Hosts can manage guest mutual cancellation requests after receiving notifications

Guests can view the processing status after submitting their request

To facilitate successful mutual cancellations, we added explanatory guidance to help guests communicate and understand the entire process

Guests can choose Mutual Cancellation when cancelling and set a custom refund amount

Replay

1

After check-in time, the cancellation button wasn't displayed in the product. We had assumed cancellations wouldn't occur during trips, but this wasn't actually the case.

During the stay

If guests booked during certain time periods, they couldn't receive a 100% refund even if they canceled immediately after payment.

2

Short lead-time

↓ 36%

↑ 31%

Cancellation related customer service tickets reduction

↓ 26%

Guest refund related customer service tickets reduction

2021 H1 user satisfaction with cancellation experiences

Option to purchase insurance before payment

Guests can see that their booking won't be immediately confirmed or charged

Detailed insurance information

Work

Our solutions for these situations went beyond interface changes: We introduced a Grace Period for bookings within China to reduce cancellation risks for short lead-time trips. We allowed guests to cancel free of charge within 4 hours of booking, or within 30 minutes for same-day and next-day bookings.

During early research for this project, we discovered that beyond the pandemic, many unpredictable factors could lead to guest cancellations. My team and I engaged in extensive discussions and explorations on how to balance this issue long-term. We partnered with local Chinese insurance companies to provide comprehensive travel insurance for Airbnb bookings in China, which included cancellation protection. Guests could opt to purchase this insurance during booking, and if they later needed to cancel due to unexpected circumstances resulting in financial loss, they could file claims for compensation. Additionally, the insurance covered personal safety and sudden illness issues during travel.

About

Reducing inactive listing bookings

Resume

Long-term solution: Introducing insurance

Mid-stay mutual cancellation allows guests to select an end date for their trip and enter a refund amount

The increase in post-check-in cancellations prompted further investigation. We found that after the decrease in bookings during the pandemic, some hosts stopped maintaining their properties properly, leading to guests discovering unsuitable conditions only upon arrival. To reduce these unpleasant cancellations, we implemented new measures: We sent notifications to inactive listing hosts informing them that their properties would automatically switch to "Reservation Requires Host Confirmation" status. When guests booked such properties, if the host didn't confirm the booking request promptly, the reservation would automatically expire without charging the guest's credit card.

After adding the Grace Period, the free cancellation time window was extended

Beyond the interface: Making policies more friendly

Background

Airbnb Cancellation Policies from 2019-2022 (Short-term Rental Example)

We also noticed several situations where guests felt the cancellation experience was too harsh:

When plans change: A more human cancellation experience on Airbnb

Airbnb's cancellation policies are set by hosts to protect them from losses caused by last-minute guest cancellations. Common short-term rental cancellation policies include Flexible, Moderate, and Strict options, which determine whether guests can receive full refunds based on the timing of cancellation relative to check-in date.

In 2022 Jul, Airbnb discontinued its domestic listing business in China, and these features launched in the Chinese region were temporarily taken offline. Nevertheless, we remain very proud of these projects. The successful experiences have since been incorporated into ongoing policy improvements, such as the recent global introduction of Grace Periods and the 2022 launch of AirCover, which provides more comprehensive protection for guests worldwide.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, refund issues following cancellations became one of the most frequent topics handled by customer service. The rapidly increasing number of cancellation and refund cases not only troubled hosts and guests but also presented unprecedented challenges for the customer service team.

Notification sent to hosts

Outcomes

Product & Design Direction · UI/UX Design · Prototyping

Through these series of improvements, we not only helped users solve real problems and improved user satisfaction but also reduced customer service-related expenses.

I led the experience design for the entire project from 2019 to 2021, working collaboratively with product managers, engineering teams, data scientists, user researchers, and UX writers. The initiative began as an experiment in the Chinese market, and later some of the successful approaches were adopted globally, influencing the continued evolution of cancellation policies toward a more human-centered direction that continues today.

Mutual Cancellation

For mid-stay cancellations, customer service cases revealed that most situations involved guests being dissatisfied with the property upon arrival or being unable to check in due to other issues. We improved the Mutual Cancellation feature to address this, allowing guests to use it at any point during their stay to end their trip early and negotiate a partial refund with the host.

Through customer service cases, we discovered that many guests were forced to cancel reservations due to the pandemic, incurring high cancellation fees. These guests contacted customer service hoping to reduce their losses, while most hosts understood these circumstances and were willing to refund a portion of the payment. Based on this intention, we designed a new "Mutual Cancellation" feature allowing guests and hosts to determine refund amounts through direct negotiation.

YIEN MA

My role

Beyond the interface: Making policies more friendly

Our solutions for these situations went beyond interface changes: We introduced a Grace Period for bookings within China to reduce cancellation risks for short lead-time trips. We allowed guests to cancel free of charge within 4 hours of booking, or within 30 minutes for same-day and next-day bookings.

After adding the Grace Period, the free cancellation time window was extended

Airbnb Cancellation Policies from 2019-2022 (Short-term Rental Example)

Long-term solution: Introducing insurance

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, refund issues following cancellations became one of the most frequent topics handled by customer service. The rapidly increasing number of cancellation and refund cases not only troubled hosts and guests but also presented unprecedented challenges for the customer service team. Working with my team, I examined numerous customer service cases, conducted user interviews, and assessed the current situation to identify problems that needed solutions, develop strategies, and design a series of solutions.