How Companies Can Use Airbnb
Airbnb can be used by companies in a number of ways, providing a more flexible alternative to traditional corporate accommodation. Being whole property serviced accommodation, it is also more cost effective than hotels. Some of the ways in which companies can utilise Airbnb include:
- Providing accommodation for corporate and consultant travel
- Housing contractors, builders, and construction teams
- Offering remote working options for employees, including work from home and digital nomads
Airbnb for Business Use
Airbnb can be used for corporate clients, providing companies with a range of features and services to book accommodation.
Business Guest Types for Airbnb and Serviced Accommodation
There are different types of guests that company can accommodate through Airbnb including:
- Corporate and consultants - Airbnb for business provides the perfect option for corporate and consultant travel, especially for long stays.
- Contractors, construction companies and builders – With Airbnb, companies can provide comfortable and flexible accommodations for their contractors, builders, and construction teams for shorter to longer durations.
- Remote working, work from home and digital nomads – Airbnb offers the option for remote workers, digital nomads, and other employees to work from home while traveling and still have access to all the comfort options they need.
Airbnb Features for Companies to Use
Airbnb offers a range of features which make it a popular choice for some companies. These features include instant booking options, the ability to filter search results by location, price, and property type, as well as 24/7 customer service and support. For select business clients, some additional features may be available including centralised billing and payment, an account manager, and customized reporting and analytics. This being said - the features suited to companies and business use is extremely limited and challenging to gain value from due to restricted access.
Shortfalls of Airbnb for business use
Whilst it may have the largest serviced accomodation inventory, there are some aspects that really don't work well for the needs of companies. This is primarily due to a lot of the features, support and development aimed at leisure guests stays and experiences.
For companies booking for teams or on a regular basis, some of the challenged faced in using Airbnb for business stays include:
- Booking multiple properties at once, where each needs a separate transaction to check-out. For multiple teams, especially in different locations, this creates a lot of logistic, admin and management challenges.
- Payment via card only which doesn't suit many finance teams as they prefer to pay via an invoice (and their finance team).
- Managing long-term or repeat Monday to Friday bookings - with again in Airbnb, these needing multiple bookings to be managed each week.
- Excessive invoicing as a result from all of the avove - due to each booking being made individually.
- Single user access - meaning that as an accommodation booker, everything goes through a single person, all of the time add a bottle neck to the process and a lot of stress on that individual.
You can see a details pros and cons breakdown on using Airbnb for business here.
Key Differences with Comfy Workers
Comfy Workers is another platform that offers similar services to Airbnb, but with some key differences. While Comfy Workers is exclusively geared towards business use. The are built for the needs of businesses booking accommodation on a regularl basis. This includes short-long term stays for consultants - all the way through the multiple booker users in a company meaning accommodation is for multiple people, multiple teams, in multiple properties, in multiple locations. They offers Monday to Friday recurring bookings and shortlisted properties, eliminating hours of scrolling and searching. Finally, multiple users and permissions in the same account are available on ComfyWorkers, while not currently offered in Airbnb.
Some of the key differences between Comfy Workers over Airbnb for business use include:
- Multiple user roles in the same company - This means finance and admin users can control limits, bookers can book & manage accommodation, and guests get all check-in information and can report issues. The result is far simpler management of you booking for all.
- Cheaper pricing - Due to the longer-term nature over the average Airbnb bookings, our rates are often cheaper on comparable properties. Afterall, many of our hosts are the same - so it wouldn't surprise us if you found the same property cheaper on Comfy Workers than Airbnb. They also have a direct host and property base, so unlike many accommodation and corporate housing agents we don't use another middle agent to find accommodation. Again, this just means cheaper prices for our clients.
- Recurring bookings and grouped properties - Unlike Airbnb, a single booking can contain multiple Monday to Friday weeks, or multiple properties at the same time. Less admin, easier management.
- Consolidated invoicing - Just like bookings, invoices are consolidated monhtly so as all properties on a booking are sent on a single invoice. The option of pay by invoice is also available.
- Configuration flexibility - Whilst the property layout cannot be significantly changed, bed configuration often can with options available twin or double bed options.
- Dedicated account manager - You get a single point of contact, all backed up by a support & service team. This means someone in the UK that you know will be able to assist you. We know booking accommodation isn't always easy, so we want to be there to help you when you need.
- Accident protection - Accidents can happen sometimes, especially when a group of workers stay away from home for work together. WHilst the liability if of the company, built in insurance to cover larger accidents is provided for a nominal nightly fee to give you protection and peace of mind.
You can see all the benefits and features in our product summary page.
Should you use Airbnb for business travel?
In conclusion, there are many reasons why companies are opting for Airbnb as their preferred accommodation platform, including reduced costs, increased flexibility, and greater comfort and privacy. Some many companies, it servces a purpose well - especially for single or solo business travellers on mid-term stays (more than a few nights). However, for many companies it falls short on really simplifying the process for large teams, groups of bookings or complex requirements.
Yet, with its range of unique features and services, Comfy Workers is a more comprehensive solution for companies seeking accommodation options for various types of guests. Companies can enjoy single invoices for all properties used, shortlisted properties for faster bookings, and the ability to have multiple users and permissions in the same account.
