Airbnb Checkout Redesign

The Challenge

Airbnb guests often face ambiguity when checking out of a property. Expectations around cleanliness vary between hosts, creating uncertainty about what constitutes a “tidy” space. This inconsistency can lead to negative reviews, longer cleaning times, and lower trust between hosts and guests.

The Solution

For my Designing Communication for Behavioral Change course at Singapore Management University, I redesigned Airbnb's checkout experience to encourage cleaner guest behavior through behavioral psychology principles. The proposed solution introduced a guided checkout flow featuring bite-sized cleaning tasks, progress indicators, social norm messaging, and a gamified badge system that rewards responsible guest behavior. The goal was to reduce cognitive load, increase task completion, and create a more consistent checkout experience for both guests and hosts.

My Role

Student Researcher, UX Designer & Product Strategist

Impact & Takeaways

• Conducted behavioral analysis to identify friction points within Airbnb's existing checkout experience.
• Applied concepts including processing fluency, goal gradient effects, social norms, loss aversion, and gamification to influence user behavior.
• Designed a mobile checkout experience that guides users through clear, manageable actions rather than relying on ambiguous host instructions.
• Developed a badge and ranking system to encourage long-term engagement and accountability through social influence mechanisms.
• Learned how product design decisions can shape user behavior and drive outcomes without restricting user choice.
• Strengthened my understanding of user-centered design, behavioral psychology, and how digital products can balance business objectives with user needs.