Ever since it debuted in the year 2008,
Airbnb has started marketing itself to holidaymakers with an adrenaline rush,
on the hunt for cheap accommodations.
Next week, this San Francisco-based travel
upstart plans to launch a brand new search tool that would be designed
exclusively for corporate travellers.
This new feature would permit professionals
to filter homes and apartments that have been deemed by Airbnb as Business
Travel Ready.
In order to be eligible for a BTR listing,
the company says that the accommodation should be well-equipped with a
self-check-in via a doorman, Wi-Fi, digital lock and different amenities
offered by a hotel including an iron, free hairdryer and free shampoo.
Airbnb said that about 90% of its customers
are vacationers.
This company made efforts to leverage on
its core business in 2016 by adding tourism services like hat-making tutorials
in London as well as off-road motorcycle excursions in Los Angeles. But then,
Airbnb has been witnessing that travel expenditure is actually presenting a
golden opportunity to it. For instance, the U.S. business travel spending is
thought to reach $296 billion by the end of this year and would ascend by 5.2%
next year, as per the Global Business Travel Association.
There had been as many as 250 companies
that signed up with Airbnb to book and manage business travel in 2015.
Last year, the number of people utilizing
the site for business purposes has tripled and is expected to quadruple this
year, according to David Holyoke, the head of the business travel division of
Airbnb. Currently, there are over 250,000 companies using it like Morgan
Stanley, Domino’s Pizza and so on.
Airbnb also hopes to benefit from the
modern trend of younger professionals’ penchant for blending business with
leisure.
Therefore, at present, Airbnb stands at a
more profitable venture as compared to Wyndham Corporation, Hyatt Hotels
Corporation and Hilton Hotels Corporation.