Airbnb targets business travellers

NEW YORK — Travelling for business or pleasure? Airbnb, the home rental start-up, wants to be your go-to for both.

The company has now introduced a business travel initiative, expanding Airbnb beyond the vacation and couch-surfing crowds it has traditionally focused on.

Since 2008, Airbnb has hosted a service that allows home and apartment owners to rent out rooms for short periods of time, effectively becoming short-term hostels for travellers.

The new effort adds a section tailored for business travellers to the company’s website. Airbnb started its push for business travellers by forming partnerships with other technology companies, such as the file management company Evernote, ride-sharing start-up Lyft and cloud computing business Salesforce, which have integrated Airbnb options into their corporate travel booking systems.

Airbnb plans to offer the service to other businesses as well.

Airbnb, which operates in nearly 200 countries, has also teamed up with Concur, the expense account and travel booking management company.

Through the partnership, travellers can book Airbnb accommodation via Concur’s smartphone app or website. Expenses for the bookings will automatically appear in Concur’s expense account management software.

“We have noticed that business travellers are increasingly taking advantage of a new generation of suppliers like Airbnb,” said Mr Tim MacDonald, executive vice-president at Concur. “Employees clearly want Airbnb in their managed travel programme and we think that trajectory will continue.”

Airbnb’s pitch is aimed at business travellers who are tired of lodging at large hotel chains. Often, Concur has found, employees have ventured outside their internal travel systems to book trips using Airbnb’s service, including travellers who have corporate deals worked out with a hotel chain.

The initiative is a large undertaking for the rental-sharing company, squarely taking on giants in the hospitality industry such as Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and the Wyndham Hotel Group. AGENCIES