Airbnb, in its tenacious quest to engage with one billion
guests by 2028, is ramping up its efforts to court the professional community
by expanding its Airbnb for Work offerings.
Following last month's news that bookings from 2016 to 2017
tripled (more than 700,000 companies have now used the corporate travel
platform), Airbnb for Work is placing a "new strategic focus" on
three key areas -- teambuilding, offsites and relocations -- to grow its reach
beyond the core business travel market.
The idea is to help companies "attract, retain and
motivate new talent by ultimately surfacing the best of Airbnb to the
professional world," said David Holyoke, Airbnb for Work's global head.
Existing teambuilding activities (offered through
Experiences), offsite and meeting locations (offered through Homes) and
longer-term rentals for relocations (also through Homes) will now be promoted
to the corporate community alongside Airbnb for Work's existing product.
"When you think about the business travel use case, it's
a massive industry," Holyoke said. "But within companies, typically
25% of employees travel for work. With our new expansion, we believe we now
have an opportunity to bring the additional 75% that may not travel onto the
Airbnb platform and into our community."
Teambuilding takeaways
As with its core Experiences product, Airbnb's teambuilding
options for corporate groups include unique activities -- such as sailing or
cooking classes -- not typically offered by traditional providers.
Holyoke said the professional experiences are available in
800 cities, and many are tailored to match company values around themes like
wellness or social impact. "There's tremendous value [in these kinds of
experiences]," he says. "They're unique experiences in unique
environments that we believe allow for a deeper connection [among employees]."
For companies, Holyoke says offering teambuilding activities
ultimately assists their bottom line and drives higher retention rates, with
studies showing companies with engaged employees make 2.5 times the revenue and
are 87% more likely to retain employees.
"When you think about the average cost to replace an
employee, it's about 3 times their salary. We think teambuilding experiences
bring new opportunity to the table and are a great area where we can help drive
a deeper level of engagement on behalf of companies."
Offsite offerings
For offsites and meetings, Airbnb for Work is now showcasing
homes with work-friendly amenities as an antidote to boring conference spaces.
Although hosts could previously indicate if their homes were
suitable for events, Airbnb is now surfacing the properties on Airbnb for Work
for companies to more easily find "unique homes where teams can create and
collaborate."
Holyoke says Airbnb for Work is focused on showcasing "inspirational"
homes for retreats, which include features like WiFi and self check-in, and are
located everywhere from Napa Valley to the South of France.
Though Airbnb has opened up its platform to hotel room
distribution, Holyoke says hotel meeting spaces will not be available to book.
Rethinking relocation
In a bid to capitalize on an increasingly global and mobile
workforce, Airbnb for Work is also now surfacing homes suitable for relocating
individuals and families.
Holyoke says relocation has been Airbnb's easiest entry
point into starting a conversation with large multinational companies, and it's
something employees want -- particularly those looking to get a sense of
community and neighborhood before establishing permanent roots.
Although 20% of employees say they're eager to relocate,
every four out of 10 international assignments fails, Holyoke said, typically
due to acclamation issues, which Airbnb could help fix.
"When you think of the relocation market and where
there's supply, in many cases I would say it's very sterile, one- or
two-bedroom units. That may not fit in terms of what a relocating family or
individual needs," he said.
"When Airbnb is in 65,000 cities and you look at our
footprint in any market around the world ... it's not concentrated in one area.
It's very spread out and diverse. That provides options, and the more options
you can provide allows you to ultimately deliver the ultimate experience for
someone."
Is Airbnb the new TMC?
Holyoke said the decision to surface new offerings on Airbnb
for Work was natural, as many companies were already using the platform to book
teambuilding activities, offsites and relocations organically.
"The market very much drove the decision to get there,"
he says. "This wasn't us necessarily saying we're going to reinvent this
space; we saw this already happening."
As Airbnb inches ever closer to establishing itself as a
one-stop shop for travel, does full-blown travel management company become a
part of that picture?
"That's not a focus of ours today," Holyoke said,
also ruling out transportation or flight offerings coming to the platform in
the near future.
But Airbnb for Work is more than just travel, he said. "That's
the key takeaway. We're more than just business travel.
"There's now a broader product offering to be able to
unlock more opportunities within companies and help companies create more
opportunities to drive engagement and collaboration. I think that's very
different than when you look at people that just focus on the travel element of
it."
That said: "We have a lot of momentum, and we have a
lot of unfinished work to do in the business travel space and it will continue
to be a priority area for our business," he continued.
"Overall, if Airbnb is trying to bring a billion people
by 2028, we're confident Airbnb for Work is a significant growth driver to
doing that."
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Source: PhocusWire