Airbnb’s data evolution: Lessons from building a world-class data ecosystem

Airbnb’s mission is twofold: Empower employees to make data-informed decisions, and ensure that the Airbnb product learns from user feedback. From three years ago to today, the data teams rebuilt every major component of Airbnb’s stack, stabilized the foundation of its platform, grew its suite of tools, created canonical data sets, proselytized for correct use of the scientific method, and open-sourced key projects in an effort to give back to the community. They have done this while the company is in the midst of experiencing hypergrowth. It has been quite a journey, and the team is happy to share its experience with the group, and to talk about the next steps it is taking around data products, including machine learning infrastructure.