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When Airbnb Might Appeal to You Over a Hotel

Airbnb’s business travel search and filter feature improves efficiency and increases appeal

It could be another successful year for the business travel arm of the short-term accommodation rental platform, Airbnb.

And just as this San Francisco-based company is expanding its business travel accommodation offerings, a new search and filter feature is improving and streamlining the customer booking experience to suit this growing market.

Airbnb at work

Since its inception in 2008, Airbnb has largely appealed to the holidaymaker or adventurer who prefers to stay in authentic homes. These travelers like to enjoy the comfort and space that renting a ‘home’ offers – especially when they’re visiting unfamiliar locations.

Airbnb has also long been favored across the world by those who prefer to fully immerse themselves in local culture whenever they’re abroad and who want to find good accommodation at modest rates.

For many business travelers – and especially Millennials- the same preferences have started to apply. Business travelers who use Airbnb enjoy more space than they’d normally get in a hotel room, as well as their own kitchen to cook their favorite, healthy meals.

Whenever they’re staying and working in a new city it might be easier with an Airbnb booking to add on a few days to their business trip and make use of being in -and seeing – new locations during any spare time.

There’s also the added attraction of reward offers – or frequent flyer miles – which they can earn with airlines such as Qantas, Virgin America and Delta when they book their accommodation with Airbnb.

As growing numbers of business travelers head over to Airbnb to make their work travel accommodation arrangements and enjoy more ‘bleisure’ trips, the company continues to innovate in order to meet demand.

Airbnb Business Travel Product

The new search and filter function on mobile and desktop shows business travel listings only. It also helps business travelers find and book their short-term rentals quickly and efficiently.

To try this new function business travelers only need to link their work email address to their Airbnb account.

This additional feature follows the 2015 roll out of ‘Airbnb for Business’ and ‘Business Travel Ready’  products which helped to increase their business travel related bookings threefold.

Airbnb Business Travel Ready

Today, more than 10 percent of bookings made on Airbnb are for business, whilst employees from over 250,000 companies are  integrated into ‘Airbnb for Business’ and continue to make use of the platform to travel.

As well as the new ‘Business Travel Ready’ search and filter, other 2017 additions will include being able to re-book accommodations that are favorites and securing better access to local fitness amenities and co-working spaces.

For business travelers using Airbnb, the ‘Business Travel Ready’ badge is visible on properties that include their essential needs.

Airbnb Business Travel Ready Listing

These would be desk space, ironing facilities, hairdryers, Wifi, 24-hour check ins and free shampoo.

Business Travel Ready hosts also have to have met criteria such as securing enough 5 star reviews and responding promptly to any enquries.

Otherwise, ‘Airbnb for Business‘ helps company employees and travel managers to book, change, monitor and connect with destination hosts about the properties they like and their location.

This system has already attracted travel management companies such as American Express Global Business Travel.

Airbnb Business Travel Product on Desktop

Photography courtesy of Airbnb

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