Airbnb targets business travelers

Airbnb has partnered directly with businesses to introduce Business Travel, providing business travel search and expenditure management.It will now work in partnership with Concur, a spend management solution service to push the new service. Airbnb will be partnering with Concur to offer integration with Concur’s TripLink, a solution that lets employees book managed travel directly on third-party supplier sites while providing business travel managers with complete visibility into itineraries in one consolidated view.The integrated service will be available this fall.Airbnb also worked closely with Salesforce to shape its business travel approach and there are now more than 30 companies signed up to work with Airbnb, including Evernote, Eventbrite, and Lyft.Chip Conley, Airbnb’s head of global hospitality said nearly 10%t of Airbnb’s customers travel for business and these customers have said that this type business accommodation is high on their wish list.In a press statement, the company also said that most of its travelers seek accommodation that is convenient to their meeting spots and a space that makes after-work feel like vacation.“We’ve noticed that business travelers are increasingly taking advantage of a new generation of suppliers like Airbnb. Employees clearly want Airbnb in their managed travel program and we think that trajectory will continue,” said Tim MacDonald, executive vice president at Concur.“As a company that likes to offer flexibility to employees, we worked closely with Airbnb to help develop their business travel approach,” said Ralph Colunga, senior director of global travel, meetings and expense at Salesforce. “Since integrating Airbnb into our travel options, the feedback has been terrific. Our employees now have a service for booking everything from a one-day trip to a six-month relocation. The Airbnb/Concur integration opens up new possibilities for managed travel."Airbnb was unable to share further marketing plans at the time of writing.