Airbnb for Business - Redefine business travel for your team

I stayed 250 nights in a hotel for work last calendar year. ~220 in SPG, ~25 in Hyatt (enough to earn Diamond status), ~5 in a Marriott because there were no other options. Although I was at full liberty to do so (and expense it), I never chose to stay in an AirBnb. To make this feasible for me, I think AirBnb would need several things: * Some sort of loyalty program with PERSONAL benefits to me - this would best manifest itself as a credit in my personal account * Status - SPG Platinum greatly enhanced my traveling experience with perks such as recognition on check-in, upgrades, gift baskets, etc. I didn't care about most of this, but AirBnb could certainly implement aspects such as "upgrades" to nicer/bigger properties which are vacant within an x-block radius, gift baskets (delivered by the likes of Postmates, UberEATS, etc.), local events, etc. * Instant booking - this is HUGE. I very very often would book hotels past 6pm on the night of, or move/cancel stays based on work, airline schedules, etc. I don't want to wait to interact with a host - I just want a key. Preferably one that works via BLE on my phone. * Amenities - Fast WiFi is a must, outlets by the bed are nice, and very important - gym access. No reason why AirBnb couldn't come up with an arrangement with e.g. 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox to provide access passes to guests * Room service - Partnership with Postmates/Caviar/DoorDash/etc. to bill directly to room, along with a preview of which services deliver to my place * Personal concierge - ala SPG Ambassador - someone I can call up and say "please arrange reservations within a 5-minute Uber of Google campus in Mt View, Mon-Thu for the next 8 weeks - make sure there's a 42" TV" * Perhaps most crucial to this list, is a concern for the employer, not me - the reason Amex/Concur have a duopoly over the enterprise travel market is not because of their partnerships or UI - it's because they offer integration with HR systems for things like emergency alerts (e.g there's been a terrorist attack in NYC - I need to know which of my employees are staying in a hotel near xxx). AirBnb should already be in talks with Workday/Zenefits/ZenPayroll and the likes to figure this out for tech startups - most likely to be early adopters. AirBnb has the potential to create a superior product as compared to SPG,Hyatt,etc. and a better interface than Amex/Hipmunk/Concur/Orbitz for Business. But corp travel is complicated, and customers are extremely finicky. Huge potential to get this right, huge opportunity if they do.

We recently signed up for Airbnb for business. Several of our remote teammates travel to SF for 1-3 weeks and Airbnb has been our go-to for lodging; however, prior to this @corleyh was using her personal account (and reputation on Airbnb -- how brave!) to book.

I hate to say it, but Marriott is keeping me pretty loyal right now with their reward points. As much as I travel for business (nearly every single week), that's a couple of free vacations every year - easily. For that reason, I only use AirBnb when I need to book a space for three or more people. But a solid rewards program would make it foolish for me not to switch.

This is such a brilliant move for AirBnb. I can imagine a ton of smaller companies / start-ups will be really interested in this.

Thanks everyone for your comments! We get a lot of feedback about a loyalty program. We built this to make it easier to use Airbnb for the right business situations. Long term trips, group trips sometimes might make it worth skipping the points and getting a property better tailored for your needs. For off-sites and retreats, there's probably not a better option out there! We know traveling for work is tedious, the trips you have to take, not necessarily want to take. Our goal is to help business travelers feel at home on the road. We'll be working hard to keep adding new features that make airbnb the best option for all business trips. If you have any feedback, or interest in signing up, don't hesitate to email us at travelcorp@airbnb.com. Thanks!

Great initiative to engage corporate travel programs-- adds a really nice diversity of pricepoints and styles. I use Airbnb as often as I can when I travel for work, and can imagine going forward more folks may want options a bit more unique / local / 'home'-like than a hotel.

Great move by @Airbnb all around. Renters can potentially make more than they would off a single tenant. Companies can save money & build culture. Big opportunities in this emerging market.

Where are these gorgeous properties AirBnB shows on their site? Our team travels to Manhattan several times a year, and the AirBnBs we've stayed at have been uniformly run down. Giving up Starwood points is a HUGE negative for a business traveler: there's just no consistence in AirBnB's network.

Amazing! This is the kind of things that companies like Expedia, Booking and others are not ready to do, to offer a real solution to business travelers, with a different kind of needs and not just mixing the services.

What i wonder is - are retreats next? (or too niche?)

@rrhoover i haven't come across a rewards program yet but the Airbnb business feature is great.

So this is definitely interesting--but we have to remember who they are catering to. Their target audience is out of town business travelers and this should not have a large effect on "workplace as a service" providers like SpareChair, LiquidSpace & LaunchableLabs--where our target markets are not just for out-of-towners.

I've always had a pretty good experience with AirBnB, and I prefer it to hotels because I like being able to make my own coffee in the morning, and I like staying in actual neighborhoods. I spend a lot of time in our NY office and I always spend a lot of time trying to find the right place (on a convenient subway line, near a nice place to run, proximity to other things I like to do). I would love if AirBnB for business could help me search more easily by, say, giving me search results I can sort by commute time to the office. I have also used my personal account to book for other team members, so I think a business account could be super-helpful as we grow! A rewards program would be fantastic, too.

I would love if they partnered with local gyms in the city. When I travel for an extended period of time or even in another city for a few days, it makes it a lot easier to stay in routine if there is a gym accessible in the hotel.

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