Lessons of Localization from Airbnb | GMA Webinars
- 1. “Lessons of Localization from Airbnb” Julian Leung | Ex-Product Localization Manager, APAC, Airbnb © Growth Marketer Academy 2019 / PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
- 2. “Lessons of Localization from Airbnb” House Rules and Disclaimers ● Presentation will be conducted in English ● I’ll be sharing the slides via GMA ● I’ll be skimming through the content fairly quickly ● Keep your questions and comments until the end ● Connect with me on LinkedIn ● Enjoy!
- 3. How many of you have traveled on Airbnb before?
- 5. What does “Airbnb” stand for?
- 7. ● 500 million guest arrivals ● 2 million guests per night ● 6 million listings ● 191 countries/regions and 100K cities ● $65 billion earned by hosts The Scale of Airbnb 2007 to 2019
- 8. My Story at Airbnb
- 9. My Story at Airbnb 2012 to 2016 ● One of the earliest employees and first tech hire in Asia ● Started as a Host Manager ● Then transitioned to Localization and Product ● One of first two Localization Managers at Airbnb globally ● First Product Manager dedicated to China ● One of very few who have stayed at the original Airbnb ● More than 100 reviews on Airbnb
- 12. “Lessons of Localization from Airbnb” Key Takeaways ● Translation is difficult ● Localization is much more than just translation. ● Localization is also much more than just content localization. ● “The devil is in the detail” ● “Prioritization, Prioritization, Prioritization” ● “Different Trailers, Same Movie”
- 13. Why was localization important for Airbnb (back in 2015)?
- 17. What is the scale of translation at Airbnb (back in the day)?
- 20. What makes translation at Airbnb difficult (back in the day)?
- 21. The Challenges of Translation 2012 - 2016 ● The sheer volume and diversity of content to be translated ● Prioritization of what needs to be translated first ● Helping freelance translators understand the proper context ● Direct translations are often odd-sounding and unnatural ● Requires much collaboration with Product and Engineering ● Balancing Speed vs. Quality and Consistency ● Proper quality assurance is very time consuming
- 26. Genius
- 41. What does bad localization look like?
- 50. Translation Beyond Just Texts Examples ● Context, Tone of Voice ● Phone Numbers and Email Addresses ● Currency ● Date and Number Formats ● Line Breaks and UI Fit ● Screenshots, Icons, Logos, Illustrations, Videos ● Relevance and Availabilities ● Abide by Local Regulations
- 51. What does better localization look like?
- 63. Localization is much much more than just translation
- 64. Localization is also much more than just content localization
- 66. 8 Dilemmas of Product Localization JULIAN LEUNG / 2020-03-26
- 67. ● “Biggest travel market on the planet” ● 400 million millenials in China ● “Fastest growing market domestically” ● “Second fastest (growing) in terms of outbound” ● “Over 10 million guest arrivals by Chinese travelers” ● “80% of user base in China is under 35” Why China? Reasons for Airbnb’s Commitments for China
- 68. Original China Product Team
- 69. 1. Doing or Understanding
- 87. 2. Essential or Good-to-have
- 93. 3. Top or Bottom of funnel
- 102. 4. Experiment or Gut
- 109. Challenges and Limitations of Experimentation Specific considerations when it comes to localization ● Smaller Sample Size ● Lower Sample Quality ● Have to rely more on Proxy Metrics ● More Assumptions Made
- 110. Experiment Examples
- 117. Map CDN
- 122. Increase Referral Bonus from $25 to $40
- 123. A: Do Nothing B: Push/Text C: Push/Text + Coupon
- 125. 5. Incremental or Drastic
- 132. 6. To fork or Not to fork
- 137. 7. One-time or Scalable
- 148. 8. Human or Technology
- 152. Airbnb China Today
- 168. What is good localization?
- 186. “Lessons of Localization from Airbnb” Julian Leung | Ex-Product Localization Manager, APAC, Airbnb © Growth Marketer Academy 2019 / PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL