Post by High Priestess on Oct 4, 2015 17:45:27 GMT
Peter shared in July 2015:
Airbnb Needs to Be Better at Search Than Google
"Airbnb is increasingly using machine learning to understand the habits
and preferences of both its guests and its hosts in order to make the
most relevant matches. Each time a user searches for accommodations on
Airbnb, the company runs that search through a model to determine which
hosts are most likely to accept. The model factors in variables like the
duration of the stay and the gap between this latest potential booking
and the host’s last booking, among other things"
"Meanwhile, Curtis says the company is also working on ways to explicitly
collect preferences from hosts that can be layered on top of the
machine learning model. For instance, knowing whether or not hosts can
accommodate last minute bookings would be critical to capturing users
who have limited time to find a place to stay and might otherwise turn
to rival services like HotelTonight. 'As we move more to instant
booking, it gets even more important that we understand those host
preferences,' Curtis says."
Click here wrd.cm/1UoMBhh for Wired article.
My two cents: I appreciate the trade off between smart search results and privacy. In order for algorithms to give us the search results we are looking for faster, search engines need to know more about us and how we behave. However, there comes a point where the "creepy" line is crossed and Big Brother emerges. That's why I don't search with Google anymore. I hope Airbnb doesn't cross that line for me either.
Airbnb Needs to Be Better at Search Than Google
"Airbnb is increasingly using machine learning to understand the habits
and preferences of both its guests and its hosts in order to make the
most relevant matches. Each time a user searches for accommodations on
Airbnb, the company runs that search through a model to determine which
hosts are most likely to accept. The model factors in variables like the
duration of the stay and the gap between this latest potential booking
and the host’s last booking, among other things"
"Meanwhile, Curtis says the company is also working on ways to explicitly
collect preferences from hosts that can be layered on top of the
machine learning model. For instance, knowing whether or not hosts can
accommodate last minute bookings would be critical to capturing users
who have limited time to find a place to stay and might otherwise turn
to rival services like HotelTonight. 'As we move more to instant
booking, it gets even more important that we understand those host
preferences,' Curtis says."
Click here wrd.cm/1UoMBhh for Wired article.
My two cents: I appreciate the trade off between smart search results and privacy. In order for algorithms to give us the search results we are looking for faster, search engines need to know more about us and how we behave. However, there comes a point where the "creepy" line is crossed and Big Brother emerges. That's why I don't search with Google anymore. I hope Airbnb doesn't cross that line for me either.