BUSINESS - TRAVEL - 30.09.2019

Airbnb: new search tools for business travellers

Airbnb has become a highly popular platform for cheap and original vacation rentals. Business travellers can also make good use of this service, and the professional possibilities have recently been made more accessible.

In over 100,000 cities

Airbnb ( https://www.airbnb.co.uk ) is an online marketplace for the rental of rooms and apartments. The platform is active in over 100,000 cities in 191 countries, and more than 6 million homeowners have registered so far. When you enter a city in the search module, you will immediately get an overview of all the available accommodations in the area. At the top, you can set all kinds of filters which fine-tune the search results based on the desired period, the type of room (from a shared room to an entire house), the number of guests and the price. Recently, a Work Trip filter was added. This allows Airbnb to select homes and boutique hotels with five-star ratings issued by professional travellers. The idea is that the requirements of business people often differ from holidaymakers, e.g. access at different times, a workspace, a good Wi-Fi connection, etc.

How large is the business offer?

Search test. We looked for accommodation for two nights in Luton and were shown 42 professional rentals, while without the Work Trip filter activated we found 306 homes. When you click through on a result, you’re shown photos and reviews plus all relevant details. So is this business selection better? Not according to our test - many of the rooms shown were situated in London. The reason is obvious: the reviews are submitted by business travellers, and they are more likely to choose the capital. True, the distances between the cities isn’t huge, but still. Note. On the downside, you can’t sort the search results by distance to the location you’ve originally entered, and the exact location of the rental is generally shown only when you open the details; all this makes searching more difficult.

Conclusion. The idea behind the Work Trip filter is good, but it only works well for large cities which have a significant number of professional visitors. In London itself, or Barcelona, for example, we did receive a relevant offer for business travellers, but for smaller cities, it’s better not to use this filter.

Tip. Don’t forget that Airbnb lets you find a central meeting place, an inspiring brainstorming location, a cosy space for teambuilding activities, etc.

Do you need an invoice?

In order to book Airbnb accommodation, you will be asked to register first, and here you can add your company details to your profile. Once the validity of the VAT number you’ve entered has been verified, you can request an invoice for your stay. To do so, go to Airbnb’s Trips section and click on Your Home Reservation ; View Invoices and select the appropriate invoice.

Central management

Airbnb already had a separate Airbnb for Work section ( https://www.airbnb.com/companies ). It provides you with a central dashboard that shows you all the overnight stays you’ve booked so far and the travel expenses and travel dates, and you can link multiple payment methods to them. As an administrator, you can give employees access and determine their rights. Note. You can only register via a company e-mail address, e.g. no Gmail. More information can be found on the Airbnb Help pages ( https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/home ).

Only use Airbnb’s new Work Trip filter when looking for accommodation in big cities which has a reputation for business visitors. For business trips to smaller cities, this Work Trip option is not really effective.

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