17 Aug, 2022
Airbnb’s design for living and working anywhere
People have become more flexible with where they live and how they work and the transition between the two is becoming seamless. In response to the increase in desired flexibility, Airbnb has recently...
People have become more flexible with where they live and how they work and the transition between the two is becoming seamless. In response to the increase in desired flexibility, Airbnb has recently announced their future of work (and living) strategy. Their aim has been to allow employees to live and work anywhere they choose.
Airbnb have widened their operations by partnering with destinations to help them attract more remote workers. In a bid to support employees and destinations, they are inviting governments, Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and relevant non-profits across the world to join the platform as a ‘Live and Work Anywhere' destination.
The five standout features of the ‘live and work anywhere’ strategy are:
1. Employees can work from home or the office.
2. Employees can be physically mobile within their working country with the same level of compensation.
3. Employees have flexibility to travel and work around the world.
4. Team gatherings and meetups will occur, regularly and in-person, as a company.
5. Work will continue in a highly co-ordinated way.
1. Employees can work from home or the office.
2. Employees can be physically mobile within their working country with the same level of compensation.
3. Employees have flexibility to travel and work around the world.
4. Team gatherings and meetups will occur, regularly and in-person, as a company.
5. Work will continue in a highly co-ordinated way.
“Airbnb is in the business of human connection above all else, and we believe that the most meaningful connections happen in person,” Chesky wrote in his email. “The right solution should combine the best of the digital world and the best of the physical world. It should have the efficiency of Zoom, while providing the meaningful human connection that only happens when people come together. We have a solution that we think combines the best of both worlds.”
Airbnb Co-Founder & CEO Brian Chesky outlining our design to live and work anywhere.
Whilst Airbnb’s strategy may appear to have unique elements, or not, depending on the reader, they do support their efforts with insights made from current trends they have identified in guest behaviour over the last year. Approximately 1 in 5 guests reported using Airbnb to work remotely during a trip. Of the 6 million listings globally, 90% are long-stay ready and the company in enabling change by supplying greater demand for those working and living flexibly. Between July - December 2021, 1 in 5 nights booked on Airbnb were for stays of +1 month. And across 2021, visitors inhabited 100,000 towns and cities around the world - with 175,000 of them booking stays for +3 months.
Overtime, they have been able to adjust product features and have made over 150 service updates, in the last year alone, to make sure listings are remote-ready. More recently, we can observe the clear move to scale operations by working with governments around the world to increase flexibility in peoples choice of living and working locations.
Airbnb is “in the business of human connection” and still strong advocates that the most meaningful connections happen in person. The world has changed and Airbnb has evolved in response to trends about the future of work and living. The priority is not a competition about work-from-home or work-from-anywhere, 3-day-weeks or 4-day-weeks, it’s about healthily addressing the relationship between living and working and the need for better flexibility in our lives going forward.
