
Airbnb introduces new search tools for business travelers - tosh
https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/22/airbnb-introduces-new-search-tools-for-business-travelers/
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tempsy
I'm honestly shocked that business travelers want to stay in AirBnBs. If I'm
traveling for business usually I'm traveling to some major city and need to be
near or in the downtown commercial area, in which case it almost always makes
more sense to stay in a downtown hotel when possible. Also, when traveling for
business in general you want to minimize the surface area of "travel
surprises" and a chain hotel is a pretty safe bet most of the time.

The only time I've considered an Airbnb (and in those cases have only picked
the ones that are basically professionally managed) is if the hotels are
outrageously expensive for whatever reason.

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grmtony
As a frequent business traveler I’ve had great experiences with using Airbnb
as an alternative to hotels. Getting a nice Airbnb just helps break up the
business travel monotony. Every hotel room looks and feels the same, as we all
know. Getting an Airbnb helps me ever so slightly to feel a little bit more at
(a) home on business trips.

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dannykwells
Who needs to feel at home on a business trip? At least hotels don't pretend.
Airbnb is like the uncanny Valley of comfort. It's not home, it's not not
home. And verrry heterogeneous.

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dannykwells
I love Airbnb...for personal travel, where I don't want to stay in a hotel.

For work, I love that hotels don't rate me back (ugh!), always have shampoo,
have consistent brands and expectations, are easy to access any time of day or
night, afford lots of privacy, are close to downtown, easy to find, and
usually have reasonable, if not great beds. Also, Airbnb don't have rewards.

Why someone would choose to stay in an Airbnb for a short stay for business
really does boggle the mind. Can anyone else explain?

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gibolt
Hotels suck. They are just a room with a free water bottle and the same bland
furniture. For the same price you can get a super nice house that has a
pleasant atmosphere and feels like it is meant to have people living in it.

It is a bonus (for some people) if the owner is willing to give to tips or
help make you feel closer to the city, rather than a disconnected visitor.

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untog
Hotels are consistent. The most amazing Airbnb would beat a hotel room, sure,
but even a well reviewed Airbnb can be terrible if something breaks, goes
wrong, etc. Very few Airbnb owners have a spare property next door to move you
to if things go wrong.

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subpixel
AirBnB reviews are useless, because they are reciprocal. Imagine how useful
online restaurant reviews would be if the business was encouraged to review
you back, and other restaurants could consult that review before allowing you
to book a table.

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bt3
As someone who travels almost every week for work, our company has a policy
(as do many others to my knowledge), that prevents us from booking Airbnb's,
regardless.

With that being said, something that makes Marriott/ Hyatt/ Hilton properties
so popular with business travelers are their loyalty programs and the perks
associated with top-tier memberships and hordes of virtual points which
usually can be used to fund family vacations for the foreseeable future. I
don't see Airbnb ever being able to be competitive in this sense.

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mothsonasloth
No thanks, if I've flown halfway across the world, then I don't want to be
dealing with a temperamental Lockbox or a backdoor "concierge" whilst jet
lagged.

I'll stick with my consistently boring Radisson or Holiday Inn.

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tosh
Did not know that Airbnb covers so many use cases by now:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb#Product_overview](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb#Product_overview)

Makes me wonder: would it make sense to unbundle some of them and to position
them more clearly with a distinct brand?

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dlivingston
As someone who works for the federal government, it will be interesting to see
how this capability evolves. As it is, major hotel chains have a 'government
rate' that they offer for business travel, and I'm interested in seeing if
AirBNB might allow something similar.

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thatfunkymunki
We've been explicitly barred from using AirBNB because it doesn't comply with
FEMA fire standards or something like that. I.E. the hotels threw a fit when
they realized they were potentially missing out on government travel dollars.

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peteretep
I’ve had recent years where I’ve spent > 100 nights in hotels, but also I’m
location independent so I’ve also spent some months in AirBnbs.

There’s a big difference between AirBnbs; some have a concierge and a kitchen,
and some are just some guy’s spare room.

Being able to target ones that are corporate- or superhost-managed, definitely
have decent WiFi and a good kitchen, will be a real plus if I’m looking for
somewhere to stay for two months.

Biggest missing factor is the loyalty program, for sure, but I’m not sure how
that would work outside just discounting; it’s not like there’s an exec lounge
or free breakfast offer at an Airbnb

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jerryalex
I'm the host of a house on AirBnB. At that location, we never get business
travelers.

In fact, most people are large families or friends coming down for the
weekend. They want to be in one area together instead of separated apart like
one may be at a hotel. This would be one of the advantages of an AirBnB.

However, I don't see business travelers using this service all that often.
Perhaps AirBnB will begin offering subsidized listings to entice more
companies to opt for their listings.

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jobigoud
If you host families your place must be dimensioned and priced as such. The
lone business traveler will instead probably look to book a small studio or
apartment. One bed, a kitchen, a desk/work area. Like a hotel room but with a
proper kitchen.

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myth_drannon
Response to Sonder that just received 210$ mil in funding?

