Did you know that a hotel on Agoda can have hundreds or even thousands of images—yet a typical traveler will only ever see up to 20 of them, and many see even fewer?
Hi, My name is Chun Wai, and I’m a Principal Product Manager at Agoda.
That gap between “everything that exists” and “what the user actually sees” is where my work really comes to life.
The Product team at Agoda manages a wide range of products across our platform—from the home page and booking forms to different offerings, loyalty programs, and even property management systems for our accommodation partners. My focus is on one key area: property content.
I manage Agoda’s property content systems. In simple terms, that means everything related to hotel information:
- Check-in and check-out times
- Hotel facilities and amenities
- Photos and visual content
- User reviews
What fascinates me most is the scale. We have hundreds of millions of images and user reviews. My team’s goal is to manage this massive amount of content and pick out the most helpful and relevant pieces, so our users can make the best and most informed decisions about their travel.
Here’s a glimpse of what my day looks like.
My Mornings: Focus Time and Experiments
For me, mornings are about execution and getting things moving. I usually start my day with some focus time. I use this block to check important messages, plan discussions and meetings ahead, as well as analyze and review experiments running on the platform.
One of the coolest things about working at Agoda is how deeply experimentation is built into our culture. We run thousands of experiments every year, and at any point in time, we might have a few hundred A/B tests running simultaneously.
Almost every change we make goes through an experiment. As a product manager, I can launch an A/B test and start seeing how it impacts our users within 24 hours. It feels like having a superpower: I get quick feedback, I learn fast, and I can iterate rapidly. For a PM, this is pretty much a dream environment.
Collaboration with Engineers, Data Scientists, Designers and the Content Ops Team
After my focus time, I move into stand-ups with my three teams. I work closely with engineers, data scientists, designers, and our content operations team. In stand-up, we talk about current progress and the immediate next steps. Today, for example, is also the start of a new sprint for one of my teams, so we’re doing sprint review and planning as well.
A big part of my work these days involves using AI to curate content more intelligently. We use machine learning models to help decide, for example, which images are the best ones to show users first. When a hotel has hundreds of photos, choosing the right ones becomes critical—those first few images can shape a traveler’s entire perception of the property.
The Data-driven Culture at Agoda
What I really appreciate about Agoda is that we are highly data-driven and evidence-based. Decisions aren’t made by whoever has the loudest voice in the room. Instead, we rely on experiment results, user behavior, and data.
At the same time, I’ve learned that data alone isn’t always enough. There are situations where the data is inconclusive or noisy, especially in a user-facing space like content. User behavior can be unpredictable and sometimes unclear. In those cases, I need to make a judgment call, combining what the data suggests with product intuition and experience.
That balance between data and judgment is one of the most interesting parts of my role.
Afternoons: Discussion and Cross-team Collaboration
I typically reserve my afternoons for discussions and collaboration. Today is a special one: we have the final presentation from a brainstorming session where we’ve been exploring how the Agoda app might need to adapt to the increasing usage of AI.
Later in the afternoon, I have a few one-on-one meetings with partners I work closely with, including my development managers, designers, and product managers from other teams. We use these sessions to:
- Talk through ongoing work
- Unblock issues
- Share feedback
- Bounce around new ideas and potential experiments
These conversations help keep us aligned, and they ensure that we’re not just delivering features but also building the right long-term foundations.
Deep Work and Long-Term Thinking
I try to block out two-hour chunks of quiet, focused time a few times a week. These sessions are usually more strategic and long-term in nature, and the topics change from week to week.
For example, summarizing how we currently use AI and large language models (LLMs) across content, and identifying opportunities for the future. This could include new ways to help users understand a property more quickly, better tools for partners to manage their content, and smarter ways to surface the most relevant information at the right moment.
Reflecting on where we can take AI next, while staying grounded in what’s truly useful for travelers, is one of the most energizing aspects of my job.
Why I Enjoy Working at Agoda
What keeps me excited about my work is the constant sense of challenge and the impact I have. Every day, I get to work with talented people across disciplines, run experiments at scale, and see how small product changes can help millions of users make better decisions about their trips.
Join our Product team and make an impact. View job openings here.
