Twin City is a
web app exclusively for
Sep - Nov 2025
1 Engineer
Co-founder, Product Designer
The platform connects 3,000+ creatives across 50 cities.
By swapping homes, they explore the world without accommodation costs.
New York
London
Amsterdam
SHIPPED
Redesigned the requesting
flow that tripled bookings
The new experience
Twin City had 3,000 users, but most had never completed a booking.
I redesigned the requesting flow to make availability clear and requests personal.
The impact → bookings tripled and 30% of users converted to paying subscribers.
OVERVIEW
Twin City was launched
with the basics
The old experience
Users could browse homes they'd love to stay in and also chat with hosts.
The niche of creatives and the selection of designed homes set the platform apart.
But the experience? Frustrating…
CHALLENGE
But why were bookings
not happening?
Conversations were dying at date negotiation
Giovanna
24 Jan 2025
Hey Giovanna! I'm planning a trip to Berlin on Aug 1-7.
Free to swap? X
Hi Isaac, I'm keen but am only free the last two
weeks of August.. Would that work?
Ahh it doesn't, I need to be home then :(
What about September 10 - 17?
As a member of the community with a home in London to swap, I felt the frustration myself. Requesting was effortful - 6 clicks, write a message, send, wait. But it was exciting when a handful responded, until we ended up in back and forth date negotiation that didn't go anywhere.
RESEARCH
The root of the problem
was availability, not trust
"Available in August" gave users hope but no actual dates to match on
Many experts advised adding trust features, but when I spoke with 8 users, trust was barely mentioned. The pattern was clear: users logged in with trips planned, but availability only showed vague months like 'August'. The system wasn't matching on dates — it left that to the conversation
USABILITY TESTING
Test, learn, refine…
To help users complete swaps, I explored making availability specific and requesting effortless. I tested my approaches with 6 users and ran into a few problems.
Exploration 2: confirmed dates, personal note
AFTER
Requests could only be made from confirmed availability. Users wrote their own messages. Dates already aligned, and messages felt genuine.
SOLUTION
Date alignment happens before conversation starts
Hosts set their availability. Guests find matches for their dates. The system aligns on intent and compatibility.
Hosts add precise availability windows that accurately communicate their travel plans. No more mismatched requests.
Adding Availability
Guests see who's available for their trip. They write a personal message and send confident requests quickly.
Sending a request
IMPACT
50% of users subscribed after their first swap
I pushed for a first swap free model to prove value before asking for money. After completing a swap, users' mindset shifted: "I'm doing this all the time now." And the subscription became a no-brainer. Whilst Twin City wasn't skyrocketing, we had 40+ annual subscribers within a few months - enough recurring revenue to reopen conversations with investors.
60+
Swaps booked
Within 3 months of launch.
40+
Annual subscribers
£5,960 in annual recurring revenue.
2x
Request Volume
Average requests per trip: 2 → 4
REFLECTIONS
Start with the wrong assumption
I assumed trust was the blocker and nearly built verification features. Testing with 8 users proved it was availability. This project taught me to validate hunches early — even the obvious ones — before committing to a solution.
Build less to ship faster
Four weeks and one engineer forced me to design a minimal solution that could solve the problem. This constraint helped us ship quickly and get feedback with users asap.