Yien Ma | Cross-cultural challenges: Localized payments and templated communications

Creating Wait-to-pay when payment initiates

Completing the payment

Reminder on reservation-related pages

Payment drop notifications

17%

Availability

13%

Price confirmation

12%

Check-in time

Top 4 guest inquiry categories

23%

Distance to POI

Replay

On-trip

Check-out

Pre-trip

Refunds and reimbursements

19%

Pre-booking

Canceling a reservation

Listing accuracy and amenities

Top 5 issue categories

16%

Itineraries and receipts

10%

Check-in and listing access

Check-in

Results Providing templates can greatly save guests' typing efforts, and enhance accuracy of communication: · Over 30% of users utilized the templates for communication · 19% reduction in users abandoning the platform before initiating host communication · 1.5% increase in bookings

Payment resumption assistant: Wait-to-pay

The problem During the pandemic, Airbnb introduced a customer service chatbot to improve service efficiency. However, we found that the most common message from Asian users was "human support." Through survey research, we learned that users were unfamiliar with chatbot interactions and uncertain whether their queries would be accurately understood, leading them to prefer human support.

Background: The challenge of conversion

Product & Design Direction · UI/UX Design · Prototyping

The tips below the contact host button

Results Similar to the success of message templates, after providing tappable issue lists in the CS chatbot, more users were able to self-resolve their issues with the chatbot's assistance. · 32% reduction in "human support" requests from East Asian users · 15% decrease in average issue resolution time

Cross-cultural challenges: Localized payments and templated communications

The problem Airbnb began supporting local payment methods as early as 2016 with China, and between 2021-2023, we gradually expanded payment options to include more countries and regions across Asia.

Results After we launched the wait-to-pay feature, the issue of dropped payments during payment redirects was greatly alleviated. · 18% reduction in payment-related customer support tickets · 0.5% increase in booking success rate in regions where the feature was implemented

Customer service chatbot enhancement

In recent years, the Asian App market has shown unique development trends and characteristics. Through extensive research, we observed several significant changes: · During the pandemic, the adoption rate of contactless payment methods rapidly increased. · As international travel resumed, non-English speakers faced greater barriers and uncertainties when communicating with foreigners. My team and I proactively identified these potential pain points for Airbnb guests and designed solutions in advance of the international travel resurgence.

Our solution We displayed helpful tips below the contact host button when hosts and guests spoke different languages, clearly informing users they could communicate in their native language, with Airbnb's built-in translation feature ensuring their messages would be understood.

In the realm of mobile internet product design, regional differences have become a critical factor that cannot be overlooked. Throughout each project, I often encountered questions like: "Why can't we implement a unified solution for global users? Why invest resources in developing regionalized designs?" In reality, true universality stems from respecting and adapting to differences. Through these projects, we've demonstrated that "locally-tailored" design approaches not only solve specific regional user challenges but also enhance overall business performance. For us, excellent design isn't simply imposing Western design paradigms on global users, but creating product experiences that truly transcend cultural boundaries with an open and inclusive attitude.

The problem Non-English speakers often hesitated when communicating with English-speaking hosts due to language barriers. While some users relied on external translation tools, this process was cumbersome, affecting booking confidence and even causing some users to abandon Airbnb in favor of hotels.

YIEN MA

Conclusion & Reflections

Work

Message templates

About

But since these payment options require redirection to external apps or websites, we faced a critical challenge: users who didn't return to Airbnb after completing their payment would lose their booking progress. This disruption forced them to restart the entire process — searching for listings again and re-entering information — creating significant friction and negatively impacting conversion rates.

The tips on the contact host page

Our solution Inspired by the success of Message templates, we analyzed common user inquiries and found that these questions shared certain patterns and were highly correlated with specific travel stages. Therefore, we designed clickable question lists for the chatbot, helping users initiate conversations more easily and gradually improving resolution rates.

Through message data analysis, we discovered that communication between guests and hosts primarily centered around four categories of questions, accounting for 65% of all messages. Based on this finding, we implemented common message templates to streamline communication and reduce the cognitive load of formulating messages.

My role

Our solution We designed the “Wait-to-pay” feature, which preserves incomplete orders for users who need to navigate payment redirects. We also added universal reminder functionality, so users who haven't completed payment can easily find their pending order when reopening the App and continue with payment.

I led the experience design for the entire project from 2022 to 2024, collaborating with product managers, project managers, and engineering teams in my base location. I also worked closely across time zones with user researchers, UX writers, and data scientists from various countries and regions. Through this collaboration, we successfully launched these features across multiple Asian countries.

Resume

Background: The challenge of conversion