Airbnb Business Analyst Interview Questions + Guide 2024

With a market capitalization of over $73 billion, Airbnb has revolutionized travel by connecting people with unique accommodations worldwide. Their success hinges on a deep understanding of user needs and market trends, achieved through a data-driven approach.

Business analysts at Airbnb are the bridge between data and action. They translate insights from user behavior, bookings, and market trends into actionable strategies that optimize the platform and fuel Airbnb’s growth.

This comprehensive guide unlocks the secrets of the 2024 Airbnb business analyst interview. We’ll delve into the key questions you’ll face, equip you with winning strategies, and prepare you to showcase your analytical skills and understanding of Airbnb’s business.

Landing a business analyst role at Airbnb requires navigating a multi-stage interview process that assesses your analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect:

Initial Screening (Phone/Video Call):

This HR-led call focuses on your resume, basic qualifications, and interest in Airbnb. Be prepared to discuss your relevant experience and explain why you fit Airbnb’s culture well. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about the role and the company during this round.

Technical Assessment (Online Platform):

This stage often involves online coding challenges on various platforms. Expect questions testing your proficiency in SQL, data manipulation, and basic programming concepts relevant to data analysis, including Python and statistics.

Technical and Analytical Interview (Video Call):

You’ll meet with a business analyst from the hiring team during this round. Anticipate behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to assess your problem-solving approach in past situations. Technical discussions may delve into database design, data analysis methodologies, and your understanding of Airbnb’s business model.

Case Study Challenge (Take-Home Assignment):

You’ll receive a real-world data set or business scenario related to Airbnb. Prepare to analyze the data, identify insights, and propose actionable recommendations using a presentation or written report. You’ll be given enough time to perform the analysis and prepare a presentation.

Case Discussion and Behavioral Interview (Video Call):

You’ll have to defend your case study findings with an analytics manager or senior business analyst during this round. Be ready to answer detailed questions about your approach, assumptions, and recommendations. Additional behavioral questions may be asked to assess your communication skills, teamwork abilities, and how you handle pressure.

Hiring Manager Interview (Video Call)

This final stage involves a conversation with the hiring manager to discuss your career goals, fit within the team, and overall suitability for the role. Use this opportunity to showcase your passion for Airbnb’s mission and your potential contributions to the team.

The Airbnb business analyst interview process can be daunting, but knowing what questions to expect is half the battle. By knowing potential interview questions, you can tailor your preparation and approach the interview with confidence.

Here, we unveil some of the most common questions asked, equipping you with the knowledge to deliver impactful responses and stand out.

1. What is your approach to resolving conflict with co-workers or external stakeholders, partially when you don’t really like them?
2. Why did you apply to our company?
3. Tell me about a time when you exceeded expectations during a project. What did you do, and how did you accomplish it?
4. Tell us about a time you identified a data-driven problem and implemented a solution. What was the impact?
5. Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with stakeholders from different backgrounds. How did you ensure everyone was on the same page?
6. Let’s say that you’re working as a machine learning engineer at Airbnb. You’re required to build a new dynamic pricing algorithm based on the demand and availability of listings. How would you build a dynamic pricing system? What considerations would have to be made?
7. Let’s say we have a table representing vacation bookings. Write a query that returns columns representing the total number of bookings in the last 90 days, last 365 days, and overall.
8. How would you investigate if the redesigned email journey campaign actually led to an increased conversion rate?
9. Let’s say you have analytics data stored in a data lake. An analyst tells you they need hourly, daily, and weekly active user data for a dashboard that refreshes every hour. How would you build this data pipeline?
10. Let’s say you have a time series dataset grouped monthly for the past five years. How would you find out if the difference between this month and the previous month was significant or not?
11. In an A/B test, how can you check if assignment to the various buckets was truly random?
12. Given N samples from a uniform distribution [0, d], how would you estimate d?
13. Airbnb prioritizes metrics like booking conversion rate and host listing views. How would you design a dashboard to track these metrics and identify trends over time?
14. Imagine we want to test a new design for the Airbnb search page. How would you design an A/B test to measure its impact on booking conversion rate? Consider factors like sample size, statistical significance, and potential confounding variables.
15. We suspect a correlation between the number of amenities offered by a host and their booking conversion rate. How would you analyze this data and determine the strength of the correlation?
16. A guest books an Airbnb stay, but there’s a 10% chance of cancellation before the check-in date. How would you calculate the expected revenue for this booking?
17. Write an SQL query to identify the top 10 cities with the highest average booking value for Airbnb listings in the past quarter. Group the results by city and sort them in descending order.
18. We have a dataset containing Airbnb listings with several amenities listed as text strings. How would you clean and transform this data to enable effective analysis of amenity popularity and its impact on booking rates?
19. Imagine a sudden drop in booking conversion rates for a specific city. How would you approach diagnosing the problem using data analysis? What metrics and data points would you focus on?
20. Describe a scenario where you might use time series analysis for Airbnb data. What insights could you potentially gain from this type of analysis?

Cracking the Airbnb business analyst interview requires strategic preparation. Here’s a breakdown of key steps to ensure you shine throughout the process:

Deep Dive into Airbnb

Immerse yourself in Airbnb’s mission, values, and business model. Understand their current market landscape, recent news, and future goals. This demonstrates genuine interest and helps tailor your responses.

Explore Airbnb’s platform as a user and host. Identify key features, pain points, and potential areas for improvement. This showcases your ability to think from a user’s perspective.

Brush Up on Your Analytical Skills

Sharpen your SQL skills. Be prepared to write queries to extract, manipulate, and analyze data relevant to Airbnb’s business. Practice with our SQL interview questions.

Refresh your knowledge of data analysis methodologies like hypothesis testing, A/B testing, and data visualization techniques. Understand how to translate data insights into actionable recommendations.

Hone Your Problem-Solving Prowess

Find our sample case studies related to the travel industry or business analytics. Practice analyzing data, identifying problems, and proposing solutions.

Become familiar with the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for answering behavioral interview questions. Prepare examples from your past that demonstrate your problem-solving approach and analytical thinking.

Tailor Your Resume and Prepare Questions

Tailor your resume to showcase the skills and experiences required for the Airbnb business analyst role. Quantify your achievements whenever possible. Use our list of common business analyst interview questions specific to Airbnb.

Prepare thoughtful and insightful answers that showcase your knowledge and fit. Also, prepare questions for the interviewer that demonstrate your research and genuine interest in Airbnb and the role.

Mock Interviews

Participate in our mock interviews with other candidates and career counselors. Practice answering common questions, case studies, and behavioral scenarios. Record yourself answering practice questions and analyze your delivery. This helps identify areas for improvement in communication and presentation skills.

What is the average salary for a business analyst at Airbnb?

The average base salary for an Airbnb business analyst role is around $129,000, with the average total compensation reaching up to $157,000. However, depending on the location and your seniority, you may command a base salary of over $177,000 as a business analyst at Airbnb. For more info, find our business analyst salary guide.

What other companies are hiring business analysts besides Airbnb?

Business analysts are highly sought-after in almost every tech company with a consumer-focused front. This includes Apple, Microsoft, and Google, who hire and greatly value the work of business analysts.

Does Interview Query have job postings for the Airbnb business analyst role?

Yes, we have Airbnb business analyst job postings on our job board. Find your desired role and explore other opportunities by reviewing the job descriptions and requirements.

As you’re preparing for your business analyst interview at Airbnb, be sure to tap into our valuable resources. If you’re also curious about roles like data analyst, data engineer, or data scientist, our in-depth Airbnb interview guide is a must-read.

Here’s to your success and the perfect match between your hard work and new opportunities at Airbnb. Best wishes!