Business travelers could become a staple for your Airbnb unit. Find out how to attract them to your unit and whether you should even target the in the first place.
Location Matters
Convenience is key to a corporate traveler and nobody can argue with renting a room two blocks from the conference room he needs to be at for an early 8AM meeting, especially while still jet lagged.
For busy corporate travelers, the last thing they want to do when flying into a new city is having to spend additional time with long commutes when they’ve already flown in from somewhere else.
If you have a house in the rural suburbs an hour or two away from the closest city, you may want to consider advertising your space for a different type of renter…not a business person.
If your unit is in the city and centrally located near where business travelers are already traveling to, then you’re well position to succeed with business travelers.
Relevant Amenities
While location may be the most important factor in hosting corporate travelers, it isn’t the only one. Consider how you are advertising your space.
These clients are giving up hotel rooms in exchange for a clean, private space that beats living out of a suitcase in a hotel for a few days.
Make your part of your client’s trip the least stressful and the least amount of work for them.
Lacking any of the basics a business traveler would need just creates an additional hurdle to booking a stay with you. A small investment here can go a long way.
Many of these travelers want something other than a standard hotel, but want the comfort of a hotel with things like free WiFi, a coffeemaker, and a washer and dryer. They also want SIMPLE check ins and outs.
While it’s true that these clients aren’t looking for a just a home…they want a work space.
Other amenities you should consider including are:
- Work desk with a chair
- working all-in-one fax machine/scanner/printer
- Outlet strips
- Wireless keyboard and mouse
- Easy parking
If you want to take it the extra mile, have a few spare phone or laptop chargers.
Narrow Your Target
You may also want to consider what type of business client you are looking to attract.
Are you in Silicon Valley looking to rent to techies?
New York City looking to rent to those in the fashion industry?
DC looking for somebody in politics?
Whatever you are searching for, cater to their SPECIFIC needs. Give your client a list of industry-specific areas of interest he or she might want to visit in their off time and have appropriate products.
Just ask your guests the nature of your guest’s travel and they will usually share a few details with you. This is a gold mine of help.
Each industry has different needs so a little up front due diligence into your target audience will allow you to deliver a far more memorable and compelling experience to your guests. Know your city, know your guest’s industry, and know how the two connect.
Value Pricing
In addition, business travelers using Airbnb are usually also motivated by value.
They’re on Airbnb looking for something convenient, different, but also just a better value than the typical hotel offerings.
So price your rental wisely – price your unit properly versus hotel offerings and in such a way that it encourages travelers to stay the entire work week so you still have the weekends available for leisure travelers.
You can set nightly, weekly, or monthly rates but for the corporate traveler it may be wisest to go with a nightly or weekly rate.
You may need to set your prices lower in the beginning to attract travelers and get your host reviews built up, but once you have established yourself in the area you will eventually have more freedom with rates and discounts.
Don’t Forget the Basics
As with any other Airbnb listing, be sure to know the state and local laws concerning your endeavor. Do you need a permit? Do you need to pay rental income taxes? What is the maximum length another person can stay? Do you have to share the space with them?
You should also be aware of your property insurance as well as Airbnb’s in case anything goes awry – while Airbnb can insure a host up to $1,000,000, that cost does not include cash, rare artwork, jewelry, pets, and more. Know what you are dealing with and know how to protect yourself.
Finally, just be a good host.
Advertise truthfully, respond quickly, and make yourself available to your traveler whenever he might need you.
Flexibility and hospitality go a long way in this business, so be at your kindest and the people you host will spread the good word.
Business travelers often travel regularly to the same spot so a satisfying and reliable experience could easily mean repeat bookings for you.
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I feel a bed never looks complete without a head board and they are so easy to make. What do you think? We have an ex hotel furniture store which we visit I have also purchase headboards from them and recovered them.
The continental pillow also help to give a finished look to the bed. I am always changing my rooms making improvement. But I have not kept my photos up to date.
I think headboards are beneficial. I add some decorative pillows. It’s good to make it comfortable and homelike so it’s not just like a hotel. I have some examples of what I do in my pictures.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/28718670?s=67&shared_item_type=1&virality_entry_point=1&sharer_id=206982415
As a self-employed person who travels for business and pleasure, I have only just discovered that there is a business travel option on Airbnb. I came across the above thread looking for more info. The basics are well covered above (and I love the comment about continental pillows!). I personally received a really horrible personalised review from one Airbnb host (not advertising for work travel) but this whole experience below reads like a catalogue of what not to do, esp for people arriving late at night, and I would probably say women in particular, so for anyone looking out for what not to do:
1. Have two different addresses (i. on Airbnb, and ii. a different one that you give the person for the apartment very shortly before meeting). This immediately makes someone feel unsafe – particularly as a woman late at night;
2. Invite someone to dinner during post-booking arrangement-making;
3. Not have the apartment clean (or ready) – despite protracted texts over the weekend before for arrangements;
4. Give misleading material info on the advert, that impacts sleeping comfort, especially people arriving late and potentially with jetlag. In this case size and bed (advertised as 15m2, it was 10m2 but a platform bed up a steep ladder was counted as 5m2. I had limited time booking, I certainly would not book a ‘top bunk’ and do not recall this being advertised);
5. Want/expect a social event, and then feel annoyed and act vindictively when this is not the case. If you’ve been up since 04.30 (as in my case) – you might want to get there, feel safe, go to bed, minimum talk. It’s not a sign someone is not a nice person, they may just be on ‘power save’ – i.e. saving energy after a big day and not enough sleep;
6. My own fault was my phone running out of batteries and then fiddling round in a dark place trying to plug in USB for charging, but that situation was made materially worse by being worried about the address discrepancy and what I’d let myself in for.
The upshot was the horrible personal review (clearly, in my view, thinking he would get in first given the parlous state of his apartment and what he thought I might write). This host was not advertising for work-related trips (although I’d made it clear in the original booking that I was coming for a conference with late arrival), the impact of his review is that I’m almost certainly never going to be able to book work-related travel in that City again, so everyone loses out.
The purpose of writing this, is that having discovered there is Airbnb business travel, many of the factors that led to that bad experience would have been avoided in a more ‘professional’ set up and I will look into this as a good option for the future.
Free and fast internet access is the most important aspect to get business travelers, followed by work space, enough lighting to work, and available transportation. If the property is located near main road then it will need to have good sound proof so people can get a good rest after a tiring business trip.