Airbnb: The “Live Anywhere” Travel Revolution is here to stay

Living and working remotely will transcend the pandemic according to Airbnb, as guests this year spend more on longer stays than at any point in the platform’s history.

The pandemic untethered millions of people from the need to work in specific places at specific times. And despite life seemingly returning to normal, with offices reopening around the world, the ways guests are using Airbnb as we emerge from the pandemic has shifted; 20 percent of the Airbnb business is stays of one month or longer – with guests spending more on longer stays than any point in Airbnb history – and long-term stays have become the platform’s fastest-growing category. To support this trend, Airbnb’s new I’m (even more) Flexible feature is expanding its date range so travellers can now search for stays up to 12 months out (from six) with four new categories of unique stays to choose from: off the grid, Ski-in/ski-out, luxe and offbeat homes. 

This news follows some of the largest companies in the world, including Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Company, PwC, and Amazon, announcing increased flexibility for employees to work remotely. And Airbnb expects more companies to follow their lead. In fact, a consumer survey commissioned by Airbnb across five countries including the UK found that 63% of all respondents say they have come to expect more flexibility from their employers, and one third said they will live somewhere else while working remotely more often after the pandemic than before the crisis. 

In keeping with the shift toward remote work, fast and reliable wifi is more critical than ever before. This year guests on Airbnb have used the wifi filter more than 288 million times and in response, Airbnb today announced Verified Wifi, allowing Hosts to test their listing’s internet connection from the Airbnb app and have their wifi speed verified. With this upgrade, guests can be confident that they won’t miss a Zoom or be unable to binge-watch a series from their listing. 

It’s not just wifi that guests are looking for. In the past year, more than 100,000 guests have stayed continuously on Airbnb for at least three months and they’re looking for day-to-day amenities to facilitate this lifestyle. Globally the top searched-for amenities for long-term stay bookers in recent months were wifi, pets-allowed, kitchens and washer/dryers. In fact long-term stay searches for listings with wifi and pets-allowed have increased by 270 percent – reaffirming that people are increasingly planning to live on Airbnb. And today, Airbnb has announced AirCover, top-to-bottom protection for every Airbnb Host that also includes pet damage protection. 

Airbnb connects guests to people and places in more than 220 countries and regions around the world. And as we’ve seen more country restrictions eased, cross border travel has increased. In October 2021, cross border travel gross nights booked reached more than 80 percent of the level from October 2019. The reopening of borders, such as the reopening of US borders to fully vaccinated foreign travellers on 8 November, are important moments that support the new way of living and working in a post pandemic world.

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1. All data in this post is for Q3 2021, and all comparisons are to Q3 2019, unless otherwise specified

2. Clearpath Strategies survey of 7,500 adults across Australia, France, Mexico, the UK and the US; September 20-26, 2021; margin of error +/-1.13

About Airbnb:

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer one-of-a-kind stays and unique Experiences that make it possible for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including but not limited to statements regarding the expected border re-openings to travelers, the impact of border re-openings for travel on our overall business and our Hosts, the travel behavior of Hosts and guests, the potential opportunities for nights booked based on changes in travel restrictions, and the origin and destinations of inbound travelers to the United States, are forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot provide any assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct.

The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements:

• the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, the travel industry and travel trends;
• changes in policies and regulations regarding inbound travel across countries; and
• future changes or disruptions in the travel and hospitality industries or economic downturns and the other factors discussed under “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 26, 2021 and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC.

Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and reflect our beliefs and opinions as of the date of this press release.  We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release, except as required by law.