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63+ Airbnb questions

Airbnb interview questions and how to prepare

User empathy first: interviewers keep pulling you back to the human impact. Below: the questions candidates report from Airbnb interviews, sorted by how often they come up, plus original practice in Airbnb's style.

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ZorixOS tracks 63 community-reported Airbnb interview questions, drawn from an open-source dataset of real interview reports and sorted by how frequently each one comes up. Every question links to its source. Alongside them are 78 original ZorixOS practice questions written in Airbnb's known interview style (not claimed as asked at Airbnb), so you can rehearse the real format. Practice any of them out loud in a free AI mock interview tuned to Airbnb.

Updated July 2026

How Airbnb interviews run

What candidates consistently report about the loop, so nothing surprises you on the day.

  • User empathy first: interviewers keep pulling you back to the human impact.
  • Expect a core-values conversation alongside the craft questions.

Airbnb interview questions candidates report

Community-reported from real Airbnb interviews (open-source dataset), most-asked first. Showing 60 of 63. Each links to its source.

  1. Maximum Profit in Job Scheduling
    ArrayBinary SearchDynamic ProgrammingSorting
    Hard100% asked
  2. Text Justification
    ArrayStringSimulation
    Hard100% asked
  3. Design Excel Sum Formula
    ArrayHash TableStringGraph Theory
    Hard94% asked
  4. Shortest Uncommon Substring in an Array
    ArrayHash TableStringTrie
    Medium93% asked
  5. Maximum Candies You Can Get from Boxes
    ArrayBreadth-First SearchGraph Theory
    Hard87% asked
  6. Flatten 2D Vector
    ArrayTwo PointersDesignIterator
    Medium86% asked
  7. Palindrome Pairs
    ArrayHash TableStringTrie
    Hard85% asked
  8. Smallest Common Region
    ArrayHash TableStringTree
    Medium85% asked
  9. Detonate the Maximum Bombs
    ArrayMathDepth-First SearchBreadth-First Search
    Medium83% asked
  10. Accounts Merge
    ArrayHash TableStringDepth-First Search
    Medium82% asked
  11. Shopping Offers
    ArrayDynamic ProgrammingBacktrackingBit Manipulation
    Medium82% asked
  12. Pour Water
    ArraySimulation
    Medium79% asked
  13. Sliding Puzzle
    ArrayDynamic ProgrammingBacktrackingBreadth-First Search
    Hard78% asked
  14. Intersection of Two Linked Lists
    Hash TableLinked ListTwo Pointers
    Easy76% asked
  15. Trapping Rain Water
    ArrayTwo PointersDynamic ProgrammingStack
    Hard76% asked
  16. Simple Bank System
    ArrayHash TableDesignSimulation
    Medium76% asked
  17. Alien Dictionary
    ArrayStringDepth-First SearchBreadth-First Search
    Hard75% asked
  18. Combination Sum
    ArrayBacktracking
    Medium74% asked
  19. Contains Duplicate II
    ArrayHash TableSliding Window
    Easy73% asked
  20. Add Two Numbers
    Linked ListMathRecursion
    Medium71% asked
  21. Cheapest Flights Within K Stops
    Dynamic ProgrammingDepth-First SearchBreadth-First SearchGraph Theory
    Medium71% asked
  22. Employee Free Time
    ArraySweep LineSortingHeap (Priority Queue)
    Hard71% asked
  23. IP to CIDR
    StringBit Manipulation
    Medium71% asked
  24. Two Sum
    ArrayHash Table
    Easy71% asked
  25. Word Search II
    ArrayStringBacktrackingTrie
    Hard71% asked
  26. Add Strings
    MathStringSimulation
    Easy69% asked
  27. Basic Calculator II
    MathStringStack
    Medium69% asked
  28. Contains Duplicate
    ArrayHash TableSorting
    Easy69% asked
  29. Contains Duplicate III
    ArraySliding WindowSortingBucket Sort
    Hard69% asked
  30. Convert Sorted Array to Binary Search Tree
    ArrayDivide and ConquerTreeBinary Search Tree
    Easy69% asked
  31. Convert to Base -2
    Math
    Medium69% asked
  32. Design File System
    Hash TableStringDesignTrie
    Medium69% asked
  33. Happy Number
    Hash TableMathTwo Pointers
    Easy69% asked
  34. House Robber
    ArrayDynamic Programming
    Medium69% asked
  35. Maximal Square
    ArrayDynamic ProgrammingMatrix
    Medium69% asked
  36. Merge k Sorted Lists
    Linked ListDivide and ConquerHeap (Priority Queue)Merge Sort
    Hard69% asked
  37. Mini Parser
    StringStackDepth-First Search
    Medium69% asked
  38. Minimize Rounding Error to Meet Target
    ArrayMathStringGreedy
    Medium69% asked
  39. Minimum Number of Flips to Convert Binary Matrix to Zero Matrix
    ArrayHash TableBit ManipulationBreadth-First Search
    Hard69% asked
  40. Minimum Number of Vertices to Reach All Nodes
    Graph Theory
    Medium69% asked
  41. Number of Ways to Build House of Cards
    MathDynamic Programming
    Medium69% asked
  42. Pyramid Transition Matrix
    Hash TableStringBacktrackingBit Manipulation
    Medium69% asked
  43. Regular Expression Matching
    StringDynamic ProgrammingRecursion
    Hard69% asked
  44. Reverse Bits
    Divide and ConquerBit Manipulation
    Easy69% asked
  45. Robot Bounded In Circle
    MathStringSimulation
    Medium69% asked
  46. Single Number
    ArrayBit Manipulation
    Easy69% asked
  47. Strings Differ by One Character
    Hash TableStringRolling HashHash Function
    Medium69% asked
  48. Valid Parentheses
    StringStack
    Easy69% asked
  49. Minimum Window Substring
    Hash TableStringSliding Window
    Hard68% asked
  50. Minimum Cost to Reach Destination in Time
    ArrayDynamic ProgrammingGraph Theory
    Hard66% asked
  51. Design Tic-Tac-Toe
    ArrayHash TableDesignMatrix
    Medium62% asked
  52. Subarray Product Less Than K
    ArrayBinary SearchSliding WindowPrefix Sum
    Medium62% asked
  53. Shortest Path to Get All Keys
    ArrayBit ManipulationBreadth-First SearchMatrix
    Hard57% asked
  54. All O`one Data Structure
    Hash TableLinked ListDesignDoubly-Linked List
    Hard51% asked
  55. Can Place Flowers
    ArrayGreedy
    Easy43% asked
  56. Making A Large Island
    ArrayDepth-First SearchBreadth-First SearchUnion-Find
    Hard43% asked
  57. Maximum Subarray
    ArrayDivide and ConquerDynamic Programming
    Medium43% asked
  58. Nth Digit
    MathBinary Search
    Medium43% asked
  59. Shortest Path in Binary Matrix
    ArrayBreadth-First SearchMatrix
    Medium43% asked
  60. Time Based Key-Value Store
    Hash TableStringBinary SearchDesign
    Medium43% asked

These are the 60 most-reported of 63 tracked Airbnb questions. Create a free account to drill the full set with solutions and an AI interviewer.

Practice questions in Airbnb's style

Original ZorixOS questions written the way Airbnb interviews, so you rehearse the real format. Not claimed as asked at Airbnb.

  1. Imagine a host on Airbnb is experiencing frequent last-minute cancellations from guests. How would you design a system to identify these hosts and potentially offer them resources or alternative solutions to mitigate this problem? Consider the data you'd need and potential algorithmic approaches.

    Software EngineerSystem Design & User ImpactTests: Assesses ability to design scalable systems that address real user pain points and consider ethical implications.

  2. Our platform handles millions of listings and searches daily. A common issue is search result relevance. Describe how you would approach debugging a scenario where users are complaining that 'similar' properties are not appearing in search results for a specific query. What are the first steps you'd take?

    Software EngineerDebugging & Search RelevanceTests: Evaluates debugging methodology, understanding of search algorithms, and ability to break down complex problems.

  3. Consider the Airbnb 'Experiences' product. If we wanted to build a feature that recommends personalized experiences to users based on their past travel history and stated interests, what are the key technical challenges you foresee in building the recommendation engine? How would you handle cold start problems for new users or new experiences?

    Software EngineerRecommendation Systems & ScalabilityTests: Tests understanding of recommendation system architecture, data pipelines, and handling of sparse data.

  4. A surge in fraudulent reviews could significantly damage trust on Airbnb. Outline a system for detecting and mitigating fraudulent reviews. What kind of data would you leverage, and what are the potential false positive/negative trade-offs?

    Software EngineerFraud Detection & System DesignTests: Evaluates ability to design robust systems for security and trust, considering trade-offs.

  5. We're launching a new 'Long Term Stays' feature. Describe the backend services you might need to build or modify to support this. Think about aspects like pricing, availability calendars, and managing longer booking durations.

    Software EngineerBackend System DesignTests: Assesses knowledge of backend architecture and how to adapt existing systems for new product features.

  6. Write a SQL query to find the top 5 cities with the highest average booking value for stays longer than 7 nights in the last quarter, considering only bookings made by users who have previously booked at least one international trip.

    Data ScientistSQL & Business MetricsTests: Measures SQL proficiency and ability to extract meaningful business insights from data.

72+ more Airbnb-style questions are in the free library, each practiceable live with adaptive follow-ups and an honest scorecard. Start free.

Keep exploring

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Airbnb Interview Questions (2026) | ZorixOS