Prepare for your Airbnb sales interview

Marketplace two-sided sales and host acquisition strategy calibrated to Airbnb's supply-side growth and data-driven sales culture.

The Interview

What Airbnb is looking for

Marketplace Sales Interview

Two-Sided Marketplace Sales

01Supply-Side Host Acquisition

02Supply Quality & Inventory Strategy

03Marketplace Liquidity Dynamics

04Regional Market Strategy

Behavioral Interview

01Host/Supply-Side Thinking

02Data-Driven Decision Making

03Regional & Cultural Nuance

04Growth Obsession

Host acquisition and supply growth//Two-sided marketplace dynamics//Regional and cultural expertise

Practice Library

Airbnb exercises

Ready to ace your Airbnb sales interview?

Prepare for your Airbnb sales interview

Marketplace two-sided sales and host acquisition strategy calibrated to Airbnb's supply-side growth and data-driven sales culture.

The Interview

What Airbnb is looking for

Marketplace Sales Interview

Two-Sided Marketplace Sales

01Supply-Side Host Acquisition

02Supply Quality & Inventory Strategy

03Marketplace Liquidity Dynamics

04Regional Market Strategy

Behavioral Interview

01Host/Supply-Side Thinking

02Data-Driven Decision Making

03Regional & Cultural Nuance

04Growth Obsession

Host acquisition and supply growth//Two-sided marketplace dynamics//Regional and cultural expertise

How It Works

Master Airbnb Sales Interviews

Marketplace and host acquisition sales cases, scored on Airbnb's supply-first and regional expertise approach. · Click to expand

1Your Sales Goals

Quota Strategy

Practitioner

Sales Economics

Practitioner

2Sales Case Prep

Grow listings from 500 to 5,000 in a new city in 12 months. Design the host acquisition...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Airbnb

3Frameworks

Framework

Is marketing failing to generate qualified leads?

Are we generating enough total leads?

Q3 total inbound leads: 240 (target: 380)

Cost-per-lead up 23% YoY due to paid ad saturation

Are leads qualified enough for sales?

MQL-to-SQL conversion: 18% (benchmark: 28%)

ICP fit score dropped (product-market clarity issue)

Is the sales team failing to convert qualified opportunities?

SQL-to-oppty conversion low?

SQL-to-oppty rate: 31% (benchmark: 45%)

Average time to oppty: 18 days (benchmark: 10 days)

Win rate too low in the pipeline?

Oppty-to-close win rate: 22% (target: 32%)

60% of losses due to "budget constraints" — price compression?

Is sales coverage and capacity a bottleneck?

Are reps carrying too much territory?

Average territory size: $1.2M ARR potential (industry: $800K)

Quota: $1.5M per rep; actual attainment: 65% team-wide

Are new reps ramping slowly?

Ramp time to 50% quota: 8 months (target: 5 months)

Q3: 3 reps hired; contributing only 12% to pipeline

4Feedback

Quota & Territory Economics

Distinctive

Sales Motion Design

Distinctive

Pipeline Management

Strong

Deal Closing & Win Rate

Strong

Repeat

Practice Library

Airbnb exercises

Airbnb wants to increase listings in a new city from 500 to 5,000 in one year. Design...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Travel Tech · Supply GrowthAirbnb

Host satisfaction scores have declined 12% in a key market. Diagnose the problem and...

CASE INTERVIEWMedium

Travel Tech · Supply QualityAirbnb

Design a market entry strategy for Airbnb Experiences in Southeast Asia. How do you...

LEARNMedium

Travel Tech · Product ExpansionAirbnb

Tell me about a time you built trust and relationships with a key stakeholder group...

BEHAVIORALMedium

Behavioral · Relationship BuildingAirbnb

Describe a situation where you had to balance short-term growth with long-term host...

BEHAVIORALHard

Behavioral · Long-term ValueAirbnb