Airbnb introduces new search tools for business travelers
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
The only time I've considered an Airbnb (and in those cases have only picked the ones that are basically professionally managed) is if the hotels are outrageously expensive for whatever reason.
Personally I use VRBO rather than Airbnb, but the idea is the same. Don’t know I as a business traveler need special things from a rental site, but it’s a market I won’t fault them for trying to get in on.
"it almost always makes more sense"
"most of the time"
"if the hotels are outrageously expensive for whatever reason."
I don't understand how you can be so shocked when you, yourself, already listed the reasons why people wouldn't want to stay at a hotel.
Because for all the time where it doesn't "almost always makes more sense".
I remember one time where I traveled to a big city for a couple of days and had the unfortunate experience to find out there was a big conference during the week and the prices of hotels have increased dramatically (making it non affordable for almost all human being)
Airbnb can be a superior offer in that case. You will not witness the same degree of price discrepancy between the price of airbnb room and a hotel room (a hotel room price can change to 4x its normal price in case of special event in a city).
Airbnb also encourage hosts to enable what they call Smart Pricing. The host define a min and max price and the algorithm autonomously determines a price based on supply/demand for similar listings and other parameters. The bracket can be very wide, on my listing they suggest min/max to be 35€ and 150€, while we actually rent the high season at 60€.
I guess in case of a specific event and all Airbnbs in the neighborhood are booked, you could also have a 4x multiplier sometimes.
Personally there's nothing about staying at someone else's "home" that give me any feeling of being at my "home".
For work, I love that hotels don't rate me back (ugh!), always have shampoo, have consistent brands and expectations, are easy to access any time of day or night, afford lots of privacy, are close to downtown, easy to find, and usually have reasonable, if not great beds. Also, Airbnb don't have rewards.
Why someone would choose to stay in an Airbnb for a short stay for business really does boggle the mind. Can anyone else explain?
It is a bonus (for some people) if the owner is willing to give to tips or help make you feel closer to the city, rather than a disconnected visitor.
Being able to specifically see reviews for the mattress and bedding would be a game changer for considering AirBnB for work trips. I don't care how instagrammable a listing is if I don't get a good night of rest when I need to be up early in the morning.
If someone from AirBnB is reading this, please make it easier to find out about the quality of the sleeping experience.
With that being said, something that makes Marriott/ Hyatt/ Hilton properties so popular with business travelers are their loyalty programs and the perks associated with top-tier memberships and hordes of virtual points which usually can be used to fund family vacations for the foreseeable future. I don't see Airbnb ever being able to be competitive in this sense.
I'll stick with my consistently boring Radisson or Holiday Inn.
Makes me wonder: would it make sense to unbundle some of them and to position them more clearly with a distinct brand?
There’s a big difference between AirBnbs; some have a concierge and a kitchen, and some are just some guy’s spare room.
Being able to target ones that are corporate- or superhost-managed, definitely have decent WiFi and a good kitchen, will be a real plus if I’m looking for somewhere to stay for two months.
Biggest missing factor is the loyalty program, for sure, but I’m not sure how that would work outside just discounting; it’s not like there’s an exec lounge or free breakfast offer at an Airbnb
In fact, most people are large families or friends coming down for the weekend. They want to be in one area together instead of separated apart like one may be at a hotel. This would be one of the advantages of an AirBnB.
However, I don't see business travelers using this service all that often. Perhaps AirBnB will begin offering subsidized listings to entice more companies to opt for their listings.