Make your listing more competitive with a work from home office

Now more than ever, it’s important to have a designated workspace in your short term rental.

With everyone working from home these days or attending remote schools, adding a small workspace to your rental will go a long way to attracting more guests.

Launched in 2014, Airbnb for Work was created to make it easier for guests to travel for work— without sacrificing the comforts of home. Originally known as “Airbnb for Business” this niche of the Airbnb empire now has more than 700,000+ companies using it on the reg— and growing.

Now more than ever, it’s important to have a designated workspace in your short term rental.

To get a clearer picture of how to make this work for you, take a closer look and familiarize yourself with some of these work trends.

• Bleisure travelers— business plus leisure. Certain savvy guests are now tacking on weekend days to their work travel in order to explore the cities they’ve traveled to. Tired of not truly experiencing a location when they’re working, they’re adding a few extra “free” days to business trips. 
• Traditional business trips. These standard work trips generally begin on a Monday and last about three to five nights. 
• Collaborative stays. For these trips, teams of at least two colleagues— sometimes more— are traveling together as a group to bond and collaborate.
• Mobility stays. These types of travelers will ultimately be relocating to their chosen location, or need to stay for extended periods of time— usually 14 days or more.
  

For today’s growing business travel sector, these particular travel corridors are booming. 

• Between New York and Los Angeles
• Between Melbourne and Sydney
• Between London and Paris
• Between San Francisco and Los Angeles
• Between New York and Boston

Even if you’re not located in one of these bustling cities, you should pay attention to these trends. Work travelers are drawn to listings in the heart of busy metropolitan areas— but they can also be searching for quiet country getaways, too.

Need a little help with your short term rental design? Check out small space, big style. Read more here.

How to attract business travelers

To truly capitalize on attracting business travelers, you’ll want to boost your work-friendly amenities. In order to qualify for the Airbnb for Work designation, these are the basic requirements and some special amenities you might consider adding.

• The Basics— these are the must-haves for any short-term rental space that wants to attract business travelers.
• Boast a 4.8-star average rating— or higher
• Have a flexible cancellation policy
• Maintain a 90% response rate
• Offer hotel-like privacy— think blackout drapes and ensuite bathrooms
• Provide a touchless, self-check-in option
• Have a high-definition flatscreen television in the room
• Provide the essentials— such as toilet paper, soap, and shampoo
• Stock high-quality linens— towels, sheets, and pillows
• Have a hairdryer in the room
• Offer an iron, ironing board, and quality clothes hangers
• Lightning- fast, reliable WIFI is a must
• Have a laptop-friendly workspace, like a small table
  

The extras— here are some items to offer to make your business traveler guest more comfortable.

• A selection of coffees and teas, and a mini-Keurig
  
• A full-length mirror
  
• A curling iron
  
• A selection of pens, pencils, paper, and sticky notes
  
• A guide book with local recommendations
  
• Pre-check in package receiving
  
• Phone and laptop charging stations
  

The wow factor— add these thoughtful touches to truly stand out from the pack.

• A designated desk and work chair
• A top-of-the-line desktop computer 
• A printer, scanner, and fax
• International adapters 
• A dry-erase board, or a drawing pad and easel
• Convenient breakfast items like protein bars, individual instant oatmeals, and fruit for grab-and-go conference attendees
• Frozen pizza utensils— like a pizza cutter and paper plates
  

The benefits of hosting business travelers

There are many benefits to hosting travel for work guests. For example, conference, convention, and trade show attendees are often gone all day. They return to their rental to occasionally eat and of course to sleep— but that’s about it. This limits the amount of wear-and-tear in a room. Business travelers are often generally on their best behavior around their work colleagues— so noise is kept to a minimum. And guests that travel for work often dine out alone or in a group at local restaurants, so kitchen clean up is minimal.

The only drawback of hosting travel for work guests? Some unrelated co-workers may be uncomfortable sharing private spaces— so individual beds or even bedrooms may be a requirement.

Whether you’re just starting out with your short-term rental or you’ve been hosting for a while— catering to business travelers is always a good idea. Take an objective look at your space and come up with a plan for attracting these valuable and high-quality guests. Your bottom line will thank you.