US: San Francisco-based short-term rental website says 1,000 companies have signed up since it launched Airbnb For Business on July 20.
The company says around 500 companies signed up in the first 24 hours of the initiative, which now has members in 35 countries. The programme allows companies to book accommodation for larger groups, longer stays, relocations and meeting spaces. Airbnb has also partnered with expenses management firm Concur.
Marc McCabe, who heads the programme, said: “The corporate community’s response to our business travel programme has been staggering and confirms our findings that business travellers increasingly want to redefine the business trip. The average business travel stay on Airbnb is 6.8 days, which shows how customers are looking for a mix of business and leisure, and often adding a weekend to explore a new destination.”
Among the companies joining the programme are Facebook, Google, Salesforce, TBWA, Twilo, Soundcloud and Eventbrite.
Airbnb was launched in 2008 and now has some 40m users worldwide. Its valuation based on its latest funding round is around $25.5 billion.
www.airbnb.com</p
