What are Airbnb Work Trips?
Airbnb has a segment dedicated to Work Travel: Airbnb Work, where you can search for apartments and houses suitable to receive those travelling on business. It’s not by chance. Airbnb is investing heavily in the “Corporate Travel” segment by 2020 to reach 30% of global turnover.
Recently, a new “Travel Type” filter and “Business Travel” highlight were available on the main Airbnb search page and it would be a shame you couldn’t have space to promote your vacation rental.
This new search segment allows you to solve the low season problem and slow days in a vacation rental market, being possible, for example, to fill out without reservations.
The Airbnb segment target is people who appreciate a venue with all the amenities, time to relax and the sensation to feel at home, even during business travel.
Is your vacation rental in the Work Travel Collection?
Airbnb distinguishes the Business Travels properties collection from the others by assigning a briefcase badge and placing your ad in the “Work Collection”.
To get this badge, you need to meet some requirements (which many hosts already meet):
- The type of accommodation has to be a whole house/apartment and has to have at least 3 stars;
- 60% of overall evaluations and cleanliness need to have been 5 stars;
- 90% of booking requests must be answered within 24 hours;
- Hosts cannot cancel their confirmed reservation within 7 days of the check-in date
- An autonomous check-in system is required: using a smart lock such as the homeit, safe, keypad or doorman available 24 hours a day;
- Smoking or pets cannot be allowed at the apartment;
- Reliable wireless internet, space for use laptop and all the basic items required;
- Have a smoke and carbon monoxide detector;
What are the advantages of having venue prepared for the Business Travel Collection?
Having an ad in the Business Travel section leaves you in a win-win situation: the host can fill the least requested dates and guests can enjoy a more relaxed environment at lower prices but with all the amenities to do their work.
Being highlighted with this emblem, the host is reaching a new target in the market, thus also appearing in the specific searches of people travelling on business. Being able to receive Business guests allows the owner to optimize as much as possible the occupancy rate.
Tips to make your vacation rental ready for the Business Travel Collection
Workspace
For your property to be considered Business Travel Ready it is necessary to have a workspace with a desk, a laptop table and a chair. If you care about design but your property is not too big enough or don´t have much money to expense in this requirement, you can find good suggestions on IKEA for beautiful and affordable furniture. An option for a cheaper desk here and a chair here.
Self-Check-in
One of the requirements to obtain the Business Travel Ready badge is to have a self-check-in system, and a code lock or smart lock is suggested.
In a vacation rental, a smart lock may be the only solution to offer a quality 24-hour check-in to your guests. The homeit can be an excellent professional option because it works with any accommodation (even in an apartment within a building) and on various types of doors.
The homeit ensures easy access to the apartment via SMS, code or Web App and avoids waiting time to make new keys set. By using this service, the keys still working, it is possible to manage several properties and the guest can do a self-check-in at any time.
This solution is very practical for short-term rental and fulfills the self-check-in requirement to being considered a work collection.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detector
According to Decree-Law no. 224/2015, a vacation rental unit, with a capacity of fewer than 10 people only needs to have: a fire extinguisher, fire blanket, first aid kit and emergency number: 112.
For your property to be eligible as a Business Travel Ready, it needs to have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Currently, to increase property safety, Airbnb is encouraging owners to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and is offering the equipment to the first 36,000 eligible hosts who request it by December 31, 2018. You can also find smoke detectors here and carbon monoxide detectors here.
By following the steps above, you´ll be able to make your accommodation more visible and reach more guests on Airbnb. Be sure to ask for a quick quote from homeit by filling your details in the form below!
