Live anywhere, work anywhere says Airbnb

The vacation rental platform doesn’t just allow WFH – it actively encourages it.  

What a way to make a livin’

How many times have you heard a line that starts with, ‘The pandemic taught us…’? Probably a fair few times – and honestly, it’s often true. The past two years have reshaped everything; how we socialize, how we travel, and for many of us, how we work.

What has the pandemic taught Airbnb, then? That the newfound flexibility many of its employees have been gifted with should be here to stay. According to the company website, “Professionals across the globe have seen for themselves that they do not need to be at their office desks in order to work effectively”. But while ‘work from home’ has become the new normal for many of us, Airbnb is taking it one step further: Work from anywhere.

Tracking the trends

This move, though bold, is certainly not one that hasn’t been implemented without serious consideration. According to Airbnb, the share of nights booked for long-term stays in Q1 2022 almost doubled compared to the same period in 2019 – meaning people really are more inclined to work from anywhere.

But anywhere. Really? All eyes will be on Airbnb to see how the policy works in practice. With many employees allowed to move to new countries, let alone work from home, the flexibility that Airbnb has talked about is going to be pushed to the limit. But according to the CEO, Brian Chesky, as long as your manager thinks you’ll be able to handle time differences and still turn up for meetings, you could be good to go. And to ensure team interaction still takes place, many Airbnb staff will congregate in person on a quarterly basis – just to keep up that team spirit.

As Airbnb transitions from WFH to WFA, we’ll soon find out whether productivity levels are the same at home as they are anywhere.