The more than 50 new features, announced a day after U.S. borders reopened to foreign tourists, are part of CEO Brian Chesky's vision of a new golden age of travel born in the Covid-era, in which work and leisure blend together as companies move away from an office-centric lifestyle.
Long-term stays of 28 days or more are the company's fastest growing trip length, accounting for 20% of nights booked between July and September, according to Airbnb's third-quarter earnings report released last week.
Airbnb reported record third-quarter sales and earnings, demonstrating its resilience in the face of the surging delta variant and the ongoing demand for vacation rentals from which to work and play. Airbnb cited policies announced by companies such as Procter & Gamble Co., Ford Motor Co., and Amazon.com Inc. that have announced increased employee flexibility, and it expects more to follow suit. That is one of the reasons Airbnb assists hosts in testing their listings' Wi-Fi and having the speed verified on their site. "With this upgrade, you can rest assured that you will not miss a Zoom or a favorite streaming show from your Airbnb," the company said.
The new tools debuted on Tuesday are a follow-up to the San Francisco-based company's "I'm Flexible" campaign, which launched in May and allowed guests to search for listings up to six months in advance. According to the company, the feature has been used over 500 million times, and the latest update will allow travelers to search for new listings that are "off the grid" and offbeat. During the pandemic, travelers avoided large urban areas in favor of nearby and rural vacation destinations.
However, extended stays are popular in cities during the holidays, and alternative lodging offers a different experience than staying in a hotel for a month. According to Blecharczyk, Airbnb has seen a 68 percent increase in long-term stays during the holidays compared to 2019.
"If cities want to capture and participate in these new trends, I believe Airbnb is a unique piece of infrastructure that will enable that," he said.
AirCover, a protection program that includes $1 million in damage protection and $1 million in liability coverage, as well as income-loss and deep-cleaning protection, is also available to Airbnb's 4 million hosts.
Airbnb will match its most experienced "superhosts" to those who have questions about opening their homes to guests in an effort to recruit even more hosts to meet surging demand. Airbnb's Ask a Superhost program is being expanded to more than 30 languages in nearly 200 countries.
"When you're new to this, you have a lot of questions, and what's more reassuring than reading about it on our website is talking to someone who is doing it," Blecharczyk said.