SAN FRANCISCO—Airbnb, the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company, today announced the launch of a new tool that allows employees to book business travel for co-workers. As business travel has tripled in growth on Airbnb in 2016, this new feature allows business partners like travel managers and executive assistants to be able to book Airbnb listings on behalf of other employees. This new tool adds a whole new dimension to the way companies are able to book listings for all their business travel needs.
Before today, users were unable to designate other travelers in the checkout flow. Starting today, when employees use Airbnb for Business, co-workers can easily book for someone else. Then, both the employee who is managing travel 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 or neighborhood.
“More and more business travelers 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 neighborhoods. We are excited that this product update will introduce a whole new segment of business travelers to this experience.”
To date, 50,000 companies have used Airbnb for Business to make a booking and 10 percent of all travel that happens on Airbnb is business travel. To help travelers feel at home when they are on the road, business travelers can choose from thousands of Business Travel Ready listings. With all the essential amenities and services a business traveler needs like free WiFi, laptop-friendly workspaces and 24 hour check-in, Business Travel Ready listings have everything a traveler needs to be successful on the road.
For more information on business travel on Airbnb, please visit: https://airbnb.com/business.