(TAN): Airbnb is introducing new ways to make it easier for guests to find, and hosts to provide, appropriate local accommodation in these challenging times.
As COVID-19 results in severe travel restrictions, the Airbnb community has shifted to meet new consumer needs for longer term stays (any reservation that is 28 days or longer) within their communities—ranging from seniors needing safe accommodations to shelter in, or families needing the space to support educating kids while working from home, to medical providers needing places to stay near the front lines, or college students needing housing after their schools have closed.
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Last week, Airbnb has launched a global initiative to help support the accommodation needs of healthcare workers. In France, where this initiative was piloted, the average length of stay booked is more than 20 days.
In just the last two weeks, the number of guests booking longer term stays within their same cities has nearly doubled.
On the host side, 80 percent of Airbnb hosts now accept longer term stays and about half of Airbnb’s active listings now provide discounts for stays of one month or longer. Over the last two weeks, there has been a 20 percent increase in longer term stay bookings on Airbnb as compared to last year.
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To make it easier for hosts to provide guests with longer term stays, last week Airbnb introduced a new alert and onboarding flow to help hosts to open up their listings to this type of stay.
In addition to longer term nearby stays, a larger share of Airbnb guests are booking accommodation in their own communities for all lengths of stays, whether that be because they require extra space for their families or a quiet place to work. Overall, since the beginning of February until now, the average distance from guests’ home locations and the locations where they are traveling to has decreased by 20 percent.
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To help hosts gain visibility for their local listings, and to help guests book places nearby, Airbnb updated the landing page to put local stays front and center.
In some cities, like San Francisco and Toronto, the average length of stay has nearly doubled as people within these cities seek out convenient, furnished housing options8.
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