Airbnb has announced the global expansion of its Business Travel program with the launch of a new product suite aimed at making Airbnb easier to use for companies. Companies around the world can now swiftly sign in to Airbnb and have access to a range of features to support business trips. The suite of tools provides visibility into employee travel itineraries booked through Airbnb, financial reporting data, and central billing to improve the business travel experience for travelers and travel managers.
The global launch of the Business Travel program comes on the heels of 700 percent growth that Airbnb’s Business Travel program has experienced over the past year. Since the program’s launch last July, more than 250 companies have joined Airbnb’s Business Travel program, including Google, TBWA, Twilio, and SoundCloud.
“Our employees worldwide appreciate the choice and flexibility that Airbnb listings provide them when they’re on the road — whether for conferences, meetings, or team offsites. It’s great that Googlers can easily access Airbnb’s wide range of accommodations as they make their travel plans,” said Darragh Ormsby, Global Travel Manager, Google.
“As an agency, we are huge fans of Airbnb and have been using their site to book accommodations for years. We are very excited about the new dashboard tool and are looking forward to rolling it out within our organization. Not only will it help streamline the booking process for business travel, but it will ultimately help us better manage invoices, expenses, and stays on a single web-based platform,” said Joe Basso, Budget Director at TBWACHIATDAY.
“As a global company with offices in Berlin, San Francisco, New York, and London, we expect many of our employees to book business trips in 2015, and Airbnb’s new solution provides us with a great set of tools. Having this type of added visibility into past, present, and future trips allows us to improve our employee experience while they are traveling,” said Caoimhe Keogan, VP People, SoundCloud.
“With employees around the globe, Airbnb Business Travel helps us better support our team when they are on the road,” said Kelly Cammer, Travel Manager for Twilio. “Not only are we able to get better insight into how and when our employees are using Airbnb, but travelers are able to choose a place that feels like home at a price that fits our travel budgets.”
Airbnb Business Travel helps companies of all sizes cater to the diverse travel needs of their employees. The free dashboard can be up and running in a matter of minutes and employees can opt in to book Airbnb’s and expense them directly back to the business. The streamlined and integrated payment system allows small businesses in particular a way to offer a wider array of accommodations for their employees’ business travel and receive reporting on employee spend.
The Product is comprised of three components — the Activity Tab, the Reporting Tab, and the Employees Tab — as well as central billing and financial reporting data to help serve travel managers with:
- Activity Tab
- Cataloging current and upcoming employee trips, including trip dates, location, date booked, trip status, number of people in each party, and an interactive map.
- Reporting Tab
- Collecting and managing booking reports for the entire organization.
- Exporting financial data and reports.
- Employees Tab
- Managing approved and pending employees who have been permitted to book business travel using Airbnb.
Companies that sign up for Airbnb’s Business Travel program between now and September 1, 2015 will be eligible for a special promotion. Business travelers at enrolled companies will receive $50 in Airbnb credit to use towards their first corporate travel booking.
