Airbnb has today announced a new tool allowing travel managers to book Airbnb listings for a company’s travelling employees.
Business travel booked through AirBnB has tripled in the last year according to the company, but before today, users were unable to designate other travellers in the checkout flow.
The new tool allows those who use Airbnb for Business to book for someone else so that both the travel manager and the employee who is taking the trip can see the trip details, make changes to the reservation and message the Airbnb host with questions about the listing.
“More and more business travellers are choosing to stay with Airbnb while they are on the road, so they get the chance to not just visit , but live in a city, even if it’s for one night,” said Lex Bayer, Head of Global Payments and Business Development at Airbnb. “Our hosts offer more than just generic hospitality, they help travelers live in the heart of local neighbourhoods. We we are excited that this product update will introduce a whole new segment of business travellers to this experience.”
Airbnb has “Business Travel Ready” listings which are properties with amenities and services a business traveller needs like free WiFi, laptop-friendly workspaces and 24 hour check-in.
The company says that 50,000 companies have used Airbnb for Business to make a booking and 10 percent of all bookings are business travel.
