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AirBnB is a solid exception to the "must be daily users - 20% retention" statistic. No way is their average user base a daily user.

by bennyg 12y ago

bdcravens 12y ago
Plenty of other exceptions: a large % of eBay users probably don't use the site every other day. Selling on eBay or renting a property are highly intentional decisions: trip planning is something that will happen. The trip itself is intentional, but the exact itinerary will vary, and the lack thereof won't prevent the trip from occurring.
SapphireSun 12y ago
Don't forget that there's a distribution around the mean. You'll probably find plenty of outliers. It'd be interesting to see the graph MixPanel's guy is basing his estimate off of.
badusername 12y ago
I don't agree that 20% retention statistic is a good way to view it at all. There are tons of exceptions to that rule - Amazon, Kayak, Turbotax, or even TripAdvisor. I often view that as entering one's normal "workflow" through whatever it is they are trying to do - it's a rarity, and there is a good chance that a fringe app wouldn't make it.
joncalhoun 12y ago
There are two unique userbases for AirBnB - renters and renters. Renters may not have a 20% daily retention but I would bet that rentees are much closer to 20%. On top of that, AirBnB is a marketplace. I would imagine that marketplaces are affected more by supply and demand ownership than daily retention.
- frankdenbow 12y ago
  I was going to propose the exact opposite: renters who want to keep their ratings high go back frequently to answer inquiries while each individual rentee only goes on the site occasionally when traveling.
  - joncalhoun 12y ago
    I chose not to use "owner" because not all people listing on AirBnB own their property, but I think we were thinking the same thing. People listing properties almost definitely have higher retention than travelers.
garry 12y ago
Let's call it a rule of thumb. There are always exceptions in startups.

AirBnB is a solid exception to the "must be daily users - 20% retention" statistic. No way is their average user base a daily user.

by bennyg 12y ago

AirBnB is a solid exception to the "must be daily users - 20% retention" statistic. No way is their average user base a daily user.

bdcravens 12y ago

Plenty of other exceptions: a large % of eBay users probably don't use the site every other day. Selling on eBay or renting a property are highly intentional decisions: trip planning is something that will happen. The trip itself is intentional, but the exact itinerary will vary, and the lack thereof won't prevent the trip from occurring.

SapphireSun 12y ago

Don't forget that there's a distribution around the mean. You'll probably find plenty of outliers. It'd be interesting to see the graph MixPanel's guy is basing his estimate off of.

badusername 12y ago

I don't agree that 20% retention statistic is a good way to view it at all. There are tons of exceptions to that rule - Amazon, Kayak, Turbotax, or even TripAdvisor. I often view that as entering one's normal "workflow" through whatever it is they are trying to do - it's a rarity, and there is a good chance that a fringe app wouldn't make it.

joncalhoun 12y ago

There are two unique userbases for AirBnB - renters and renters. Renters may not have a 20% daily retention but I would bet that rentees are much closer to 20%. On top of that, AirBnB is a marketplace. I would imagine that marketplaces are affected more by supply and demand ownership than daily retention.

frankdenbow 12y ago
I was going to propose the exact opposite: renters who want to keep their ratings high go back frequently to answer inquiries while each individual rentee only goes on the site occasionally when traveling.
- joncalhoun 12y ago
  I chose not to use "owner" because not all people listing on AirBnB own their property, but I think we were thinking the same thing. People listing properties almost definitely have higher retention than travelers.

garry 12y ago

Let's call it a rule of thumb. There are always exceptions in startups.