How Airbnb got every Beijing 2022 athlete their travel credit through one sign-in

Airbnb promised a $500 credit to every athlete competing at the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, open for claims from January 23, before the Games began. Athletes needed to sign in through the IOC’s Athlete365, be checked against the Olympic and Paralympic entry lists, and get the credit straight into their Airbnb account, with accessibility built in for Para athletes. Airbnb had none of it as one flow, and eight weeks to January 23.

Airbnb’s own teams were committed to the year’s biggest product release, already promised to every host and guest. Hiring for the work would have taken longer than the deadline, and a one-off build for one Games would have to be rebuilt for the Travel Grant in April and every Games after.

We turned the eligibility rules into features in the first two weeks and agreed with Airbnb, the IOC and the IPC what “done” meant for each, in Airbnb’s own design language. Nothing was signed off on our word; each milestone passed Airbnb’s reviews first.

Everything was built as product, not as a project for one Games. Sign-in and verification run through Athlete365, and each program is a set of eligibility rules on top, so the next grant switches on with no rebuild. Airbnb’s teams shipped their release on schedule.

Claims opened on January 23, 2022, twelve days before the Games, and Olympians and Paralympians had their credits within minutes of signing in. Across Tokyo and Beijing, more than 8,500 athletes have now received the Airbnb500.

The athlete sign-in now serves the whole partnership. In April the same flow opened the second Athlete Travel Grant, and by 2023 it was handling 1,000 grants a year and record applications, each new program with no custom work.