Airbnb's International Community Panels in Translation

Airbnb sought to gain deeper insights into their diverse global user base through international community panels, aiming to better serve users across different cultures and regions.

Background

As a global company operating in nearly 200 countries, Airbnb's product needs to be intuitive across cultures and localized across languages. Prior user research had focused primarily on English-speaking users, creating a gap the research team was committed to closing.

When they launched the International Community Panels (IC Panels) — a six-month research initiative spanning nine non-English-speaking countries, conducted in week-long cycles — they needed a language partner who could move at the speed of their product development process. That's where Multilingual Connections came in.

The challenge

Nine languages. Over ten thousand words per cycle. Up to 35 linguists mobilized by Friday evening for Sunday delivery. This wasn't a translation project — it was a partnership built around speed, accuracy, and the ability to flex in real time.

Our approach

We built a custom workflow around the client's existing research infrastructure, integrating our translation management and computer-assisted translation tools to automate file splitting, linguist assignment, glossary sharing, and translation memory — so consistency and speed scaled together rather than trading off against each other. A final QA pass by our project managers preceded every delivery.

When design components were added — translating website mockups for participant feedback — we adapted again, keeping everything within a single coordinated workflow.

Did everything go perfectly from day one? No. But translation is never just a transaction. Both teams stayed in close communication, iterated on the process, and kept raising the bar on quality and turnaround.

Impact

In the first four months alone, the IC Panels fielded 439 questions. Thirty-six researchers across Airbnb's product teams used the data to inform their work. The panels achieved an 80% participant response rate and helped reduce survey fatigue across the broader community. As the program's value became clear, the research team moved to expand it to additional countries, languages, and community member types.

"The only way to ensure dependable, fast, quality translations was working directly with a nimble translation company that could flex with my needs and that would see my translations as a top priority. Multilingual Connections was fully willing and able to create new processes and adapt existing ones to meet the challenge of the IC Panels program."

-Wyatt Hayman, Research Program Manager, Airbnb

"As an anthropologist and former user researcher myself, I'm committed to finding flexible options for supporting research, both in corporate and academic settings. We love working closely with clients and finding the best ways to support their goals, and this relationship is a great example of that."

-Dr. Jill Kushner Bishop, Founder & CEO, Multilingual Connections