Airbnb makes its remote working policy a forever thing. That's one enormous endorsement for the shift in how we will now define our work and our lives.
Expedia Group's Peter Kern may or may not be correct in his claim that the trend toward long-term stays will eventually weaken to a considerable degree. On the other hand, his Vrbo vacation rental brand probably could have done more to capitalize on the trend.
By the numbers alone — around 4 million hosts — Airbnb hasn't made much progress in host recruitment despite marketing campaigns, easing the onboarding process, and pairing hosts with super host mentors. But there is a pandemic still going on, and Asia-Pacific has largely not rebounded.
The consulting giant hones in on corporate travel and remote work trends in its latest annual tourism outlook, while labor shortages also dominate the year ahead.
Funnelling budget to target these more affluent, longer-stay visitors makes sense. It might even address the labor crunch. But cities probably shouldn't take their eyes off traditional tourists at this delicate time.
Airbnb has been a savvy public relations practitioner throughout the years, and the volume of press releases the company churns out annually is legion. Brian Chesky's yearlong digital nomad stint aligns with the company's brand narrative and marketing strategy.
Airbnb proved to be more nimble in 2021 than many of its competitors, and is leading the grand online travel experiment in reducing over-reliance on Google.
It was only a matter of time before tourism caught up with the hype over non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, and join the worlds of art and sport. And digital nomads will be at the heart of it all. Just ask Olumide Gbenro.