Since its inception in 2008, Airbnb has grown into a behemoth in the online hospitality marketplace. It operates in 191 countries and has listings in all major cities in the world. Airbnb has been focusing on catering to the needs of business travelers. The key reasons why you should use Airbnb for your business travel are as follows
Larger Inventory and Ready Availability
Airbnb has larger inventory compared to hotels. It has more than 4 million listings in 65,000 cities spread across 191 countries. New listings are being added every day. It offers broader range of choices for the business travelers and they also get greater choice of locations within cities to book. The larger inventory and listings at Airbnb ensure that most properties are readily available on short notices which is important for the business traveler. Airbnb charges are also much lesser compared to hotels in major cities. In January 2018, the average tariff per night for hotels in New York was $306, while it was only $187 for Airbnb properties. Thus, booking Airbnb properties help you save considerably for your business travels which add to the margin and profitability of the business.
Better Quality and Service
Airbnb is known to provide better quality of bookings and service to the business travelers. The properties are well-equipped and provide better amenities than most hotels. You also get to experience more spacious properties and other amenities like private pool, entertainment systems, free parking etc. which may be difficult or too expensive to find in hotels. Airbnb has expertise in their domain and they are able to provide experiences for the business travelers which hotels will find difficult to match. These properties are ideal for business travelers who will be attending some major business events and can stay close to the event venue. This will help them save money on local conveyance to the business venue and also save time on local travel.
Business-Centric Offerings
Airbnb has been working intensively on meeting the requirements of the business class travelers. They have added many utility features to their systems for the business travelers. They are now provided with travel managers and a dashboard which they can use to track their travel related details. You also get the flexibility of different payment options, central involving and billing with Airbnb business travel. They have also come up with their association with Concur Travel which offers embedded listings with their online booking tool.
Satisfied and Happy Employees
Your employees will be highly satisfied and happy with the offerings of the Airbnb properties. Using Airbnb allows you to travel and interact with the locals like you would do in your personal travel. Business travelers are constantly on the road and living in similar hotels can become monotonous for them. Airbnb properties provide them novelty and helps you to relax during demanding business travels. Satisfied staff are more likely to have greater productivity at work and perform at their best during business-related travel. They are also likely to stay longer with employers who offer them good travel policies.
I use airbnb not only for business travels. I prefer it over other platforms available worldwide. However I don’t like their terms related to covid-19. The should not limit a refund policy to specific date i.e. 14th March 2020