Airbnb boosts corporate offering as number of companies using platform doubles

A new feature that helps companies streamline how their employees search for and book listings on Airbnb is to be introduced this week. Continue reading →

New tools for business travel managers are in the pipeline from Airbnb following a doubling in global companies using the home sharing site to almost 700,000.

A new feature that helps companies streamline how their employees search for and book listings on Airbnb is to be introduced this week.

Testing of an Airbnb for Work homepage, a customisable search that can account for specific company policies and use cases, is also being expanded.

The dedicated homepage allows companies to provide their travellers:

• Customised search parameters by setting property types, nightly rate caps, and amenities that fit the company’s travel policy.

• Pre-filtered locations, highlighting top-rated listings near offices or most traveled-to destinations.

• Tips and reminders to help employees make the most of Airbnb for Work.

Nearly 700,000 companies have employees signed up and using with Airbnb for Work – up from 250,000 a year ago. Of all these companies, more than 275,000 of them are directly engaged with Airbnb to help manage their travel.

Bookings from the sector tripled between 2015-16 and again in 2016-17, according to Airbnb for Work.

More than 43,000 companies in the UK have had employees sign up and book with Airbnb for Work.

The top cities for Airbnb for Work UK travellers are:

London
Bristol
Edinburgh
Manchester
Birmingham

Latest trends include:

More than 30% of Airbnb for Work bookings in the past year include at least one weekend night.

• Business travellers are increasingly using Airbnb for shorter trips, which they may have booked hotels for in the past.

• Of the 60% of Airbnb for Work trips with more than one guest, nearly 40% of had three or more guests. Teams are travelling together to bond and collaborate.

• Stays of 14 days or more have almost tripled in the last year due to long business trips, training sessions that require several weeks away, or on-site projects that can last several months to a year.

The top-ten Airbnb for Work destinations were:

London
Paris
Los Angeles
New York
South Bay, California (Silicon Valley)
Toronto
San Francisco
Boston
Sydney
Washington DC