HostelHub
A two-sided student accommodation marketplace that helps university students discover safe, verified off-campus housing while enabling landlords to connect directly with qualified student tenants.
- Role
- Associate Product Manager (Product Documentation & Strategy)
- Category
- Marketplace Platform
- Timeline
- 6-week Product Discovery, Documentation & MVP Planning
- Highlights
- PRDUser PersonasUser FlowsFunctional RequirementsAcceptance CriteriaMarketplace Trust Design
Product Overview
HostelHub is a two-sided student accommodation marketplace that helps university students discover safe, verified off-campus housing while enabling landlords to connect directly with qualified student tenants.
By combining verified listings, transparent reviews, landlord verification, and streamlined discovery, HostelHub reduces fraud, increases trust, and simplifies the housing search experience.
Problem Statement
The existing accommodation journey is fragmented, time-consuming, and heavily dependent on informal networks. Students struggle to distinguish trustworthy listings, while landlords lack a dedicated platform to reach genuine student tenants efficiently.
Discovery Insights
Research into student housing behavior and existing accommodation channels revealed three major insights:
Informal channels dominate
Students primarily rely on WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities, local agents, and word-of-mouth to find housing.
Trust beats price
Trust is the biggest deciding factor when choosing a hostel — even more important than price.
Landlords lack a dedicated platform
Landlords need verified listings that reach students directly without paying high agent commissions.
Goals
Reduce Student Fraud
Help students confidently identify verified accommodation.
Increase Landlord Visibility
Enable landlords to connect directly with qualified student tenants.
Faster Accommodation Search
Reduce the search-to-inquiry journey to under three minutes.
Build Marketplace Trust
Use verification, reviews, and transparency to improve confidence.
User Personas
"I need a safe place near campus — I can't risk another scam."
- Goals
- Find safe, affordable housing within 15 minutes of campus.
- Pain points
- Distrusts agents after a scam last session.
- Technology usage
- WhatsApp, Instagram, Google.
- Primary need
- A verified listing he can trust without a middleman.
"I want serious student tenants without paying 10% to an agent."
- Goals
- Fill vacancies fast with qualified students.
- Pain points
- Wastes time on agent commissions and unserious leads.
- Technology usage
- WhatsApp Business, Facebook.
- Primary need
- A dedicated channel to reach genuine student tenants.
User Journey
Functional Requirements
- Search & Filters
- Saved Listings
- Hostel Details
- Reviews & Ratings
- Direct Landlord Contact
- Property Listings
- Image Upload
- Availability Management
- Verification Requests
- Student Inquiry Management
- Verification Dashboard
- Listing Moderation
- User Management
- Reports & Analytics
Non-Functional Requirements
Feature Prioritization
Features were organized using the MoSCoW framework.
- Verified Listings
- Search
- Filters
- Landlord Verification
- Hostel Details
- Reviews
- Saved Listings
- Messaging
- Roommate Matching
- AI Recommendations
- Payment Integration
User Stories
Student Stories
- Filter listings by campus, price, room type, and amenities.
- Save listings to a shortlist.
- Contact verified landlords directly.
- Leave a verified review after move-in.
Landlord Stories
- Create and manage property listings with photos.
- Submit verification documents for review.
- Respond to student inquiries in-app.
Admin Stories
- Review landlord KYC documents.
- Moderate flagged reviews and listings.
- Track marketplace health metrics.
Acceptance Criteria
As a student, I want to filter listings by my campus and budget so I can shortlist places that fit me.
- Filter UI exposes campus, budget range, room type, and amenities.
- Applied filters update results without a full page reload.
- Empty state suggests adjusting filters when zero results.
- Verified listings are visually distinct in results.
MVP Scope
- Verified Listings
- Search & Filters
- Hostel Details
- Landlord Verification
- Inquiry Messaging
- Reviews
- Saved Listings
- Analytics
Marketplace Trust Framework
Every landlord must be identifiable and approved before publishing listings.
Verified badges, reviews, and clear pricing remove hidden surprises.
Students have a clear path to report issues and seek resolution.
Landlord Verification Flow
Reviews & Ratings
Only students with a recorded inquiry or stay can review.
Cleanliness, responsiveness, value, and safety.
Landlords can reply once per review.
Flagged reviews go to admin moderation.
KPIs
Successful Student-to-Landlord Connections
- Verified Listing Ratio
- Time to First Inquiry
- Student NPS
- Landlord Retention
- Inquiry Conversion Rate
Key Product Decisions
Trust was identified as the biggest adoption barrier during discovery.
Improves credibility and reduces fake reviews.
Reduces MVP complexity while validating marketplace demand.
Allows product validation before scaling nationally.
Constraints
KYC review limits scaling speed pre-automation.
Cold-start requires careful supply onboarding.
Strong demand spikes around admissions.
One scam can disproportionately damage brand.
Stakeholders
Product Artifacts
Live Website: assisi-francis.github.io/hostelhub — functional MVP prototype.
Why This Project Matters
HostelHub demonstrates my ability to:
Conduct product discovery
Write comprehensive Product Requirement Documents
Define functional and non-functional requirements
Create user stories and acceptance criteria
Design trust systems for two-sided marketplaces
Prioritize MVP features and balance business with user needs
Lessons Learned
Documentation quality directly affects engineering velocity.
Trust mechanics must be designed up-front, not retrofitted.
Two-sided marketplaces need parallel personas, not just primary users.
Reflection
Working on HostelHub reinforced that successful marketplace products are built on trust, not just technology.
Designing verification workflows, defining product requirements, and documenting user journeys taught me that great Product Managers reduce ambiguity before development begins.
This project strengthened my ability to think systematically about marketplace dynamics, stakeholder needs, and scalable product design while balancing user value with business objectives.