Basic Prioritization Practice

You’re PM for Airbnb and need to prioritize features for host retention. You’ve noticed that 30% of new hosts don’t complete their first 5 bookings within 6 months and become inactive.

You have one engineering team for Q1 and must pick ONE initiative:

Option A: Host Mentorship Program

• Pair new hosts with experienced “super hosts” for 1-on-1 guidance
• Reach: All 50K new hosts per quarter
• Potential impact: Reduce inactive rate from 30% to 20%
• Effort: 2 person-months (matching algorithm + messaging system)

Option B: Automated Listing Optimization

• AI suggestions for improving photos, pricing, and descriptions
• Reach: All 50K new hosts per quarter
• Potential impact: Increase booking rate 15% for hosts who implement suggestions
• Effort: 4 person-months (ML model + UI)

Option C: Simplified Onboarding Flow

• Reduce listing creation from 45 minutes to 15 minutes
• Reach: All 50K new hosts per quarter
• Potential impact: Increase completed listings from 80% to 95%
• Effort: 3 person-months (redesign + implementation)

Context:

• Current new host listing completion rate: 80% (20% start but abandon)
• Current avg time to first booking: 3 weeks
• Your north star metric: Host retention at 6 months

Your task:

1. Apply a prioritization framework (RICE, ICE, or value/effort matrix)
2. Make assumptions explicit where data is missing
3. Choose ONE option with clear reasoning
4. Articulate what you’re sacrificing and why that trade-off is acceptable