If you are looking to expedite your returns on your Airbnb property, you really should be doing some research into Business Travel.
As an industry it is one of Airbnb’s major growth areas as it is a highly lucrative niche to tap into.
In effect, Airbnb is encouraging hosts to become ‘Business Travel Ready’ as they will have the potential to charge higher rates and acquire longer term bookings.
Senior leader’s at Airbnb have discussed how their platform can save business travellers up to 30% more than booking in hotels. So for businesses that need to think about their bottom line, hosts will have a huge opportunity to leverage the advantage.
What Are the Upsides?
Longer Stays
When it comes to Airbnb booking maximization, business travellers are a key segment of the short term rental market. As business is mostly conducted during weekdays, business guests are more likely to book the entire week and thus stay longer than the occasional weekend traveler.
Of course for hosts, the upside to this is less administration, less cleaning, and more efficiency if one guest is booking out a longer stay.
Becoming ‘Business Travel Ready’ certified will allow you to source more business guests and cash in on the opportunity.
Higher Rates
Another huge upside to becoming ‘Business Travel Ready’ is manifested in Airbnb pricing, i.e. your ability to charge higher rates.
The reason for this is because businesses will have larger budgets than your average leisurely traveler and of course be using company dollars to pay for it.
During periods of low occupancy from leisure travellers, you can expect to leverage your income by targeting business travellers as they won’t have the same expenditure issues. In this way, you can at least get a booking through the door.
Moreover, businesses are looking for efficiency too and will be more inclined to book out a property with multiple rooms where all their team could stay, than a hotel.
Less Damage
Leisure travellers are more likely to cause damage too because of the nature of their visit, which makes Airbnb home management more cumbersome for hosts.
They may have children or pets and will generally be less attentive to behaving in a proper and professional manner, unlike the business guests.
So clearly, there is a huge advantage to having business guests stay at your property.
How to Become Business Travel Ready?
In highlighting what amenities you need to supply as an Airbnb host, we alluded that you must adhere to certain criteria to become certified as ‘Business Travel Ready.’
Take a look at the screenshot below from Airbnb’s website for some of the requirements of ‘work-friendly’ homes.
Crucially, it’s important to remember that you must be able to let out the entire home or apartment and it must be the correct property type. There is also a strict no-smoking policy in place and it cannot allow pets.
Each listing must have at least 3-star rated reviews and have responded to 90% of booking requests within 24 hours over the last year, to be eligible for Business Travel Ready status.
Some of the other facilities your listing will need to provide:
- A stable wireless internet connection
- A laptop-friendly workspace
- Self check-in (this includes a key lockbox, doorman, keypad, or smartlock)
- A smoke detector
- A carbon monoxide detector
- Essentials (toilet paper, clean towels, and fresh linens)
- An iron
- Hangers
- A hair dryer
- Shampoo
However, going over and above the common amenities will of course stand you in good stead to acquire more business guests.
One final point to remember is that if you as a host were to cancel the business booking within 7 days of the reservation, then your ‘Business Travel Ready’ certification will be revoked for a year.
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