Airbnb Presents: COVID-19 Trends and How to Recover from a Socially Distant World

Airbnb story

In 2007, Airbnb founders Brian and Joe were struggling to pay rent. So they hosted three travelers in air mattresses in their apartment in San Francisco during a design conference. The travelers found Brian and Joe's website and decided to book the mattresses.

Since then, a lot of things have changed. Airbnb was born out of a small apartment, and now our founders (along with another founder named Nate) have made it a big focus to always be a host and make it possible for anyone to belong anywhere around the world. They've continued to be our core hosts across the company, even as we've continued to evolve.

Kicking off the business took quite a few years for Brian, Nate and Joe, especially in the first two years. Then, even during the middle of a recession, they were able to grow internationally. Airbnb has 34 offices across the world. Airbnb has grown to become a large, global company with more than seven million homes across over 191 countries and 100,000 cities.

Travel before COVID-19

Early in 2020, we were in a fast-paced industry where travel was becoming more affordable. We had over two million customers staying with Airbnb per night, across unique types of inventory. We had over 29,000 tiny houses, 5,000 castles and 3,000 treehouses.

Travel during COVID-19

Some people still needed a home. Frontline stays. Open your spaces to COVID-19 responders. Airbnb is launching a program to provide stays to 100,000 COVID-19 responders around the world. If you have one or more spaces that are entire places without any other guests present, you may be eligible to host healthcare staff and first responders.

Cleanliness is your amenity for COVID-19.

Main trends

Nearby stays: Demand destination is getting closer to origin

What listings do guests tend to book?

• March to May, the percentage of people booking nearby stays more than doubled from 13% to 30%.
• According to internal data, amenities guests are looking for are Wi-Fi, kitchens, air conditioning and parking.
• According to a survey Airbnb conducted in May, 64% of guests who would consider traveling by car in the next few months haven't decided where to go yet.

Capture "Urban Refugees"

• Update listing to include why your place is ideal for staycations
• Update your space to highlight cleanliness and add new photos
• Upgrade to superhost

Top 10 trending destinations in the U.S.
1.  Big Bear Lake, CA
2.  Miramar Beach, FL
3.  Panama City Beach, FL
4.  Smoky Mountains (multiple add states)
5.  Hilton Head Island, SC
6.  Destin, FL
7.  Myrtle Beach, SC
8.  Branson, MO
9.  Palm Springs Desert, CA
10.  Port Aransas, TX

Airbnb's landing page has been updated to promote nearby stays.

Partnering with local communities to promote travel and economic growth
Some of our partners include:

• National Park Foundation, U.S.
• Discover Puerto Rico, U.S.
• VISIT FLORIDA, U.S.
• Visit North Carolina, U.S.
• Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing, UAE
• VisitDenmark
• French Association of Rural Mayors
• Hadong-gun, South Korea
• State of São Paulo, Brazil
• Bermuda Tourism Authority
• The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and Aviation
• Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Wesgro, South Africa

Flexible cancellation policies: Guests are looking for flex or moderate cancellation policies

Statistics and Trends: What listings do guests tend to book?

• Guests searching for listings that offer more cancellation flexibility
• The share of bookings with a flexible policy is 15% higher right now than it was before COVID-19
• 29% of bookings were made a week before check in

Give guests the confidence they need to book now with flexible cancellation policies

• Offer flexibility to encourage guests to book now
• If you currently have a strict cancellation policy in place, consider switching to a Flexible or Moderate cancellation policy

Cancellation Flexibility Filter: Airbnb highlights listings with flexible and moderate cancellation policies so guests can find them more easily.

Longer stays: Significant increase in stays > 28d

Stretching budgets to travel shorter distances for longer periods.

• More guests search for longer nearby stays. Guest stays that are 28 nights or longer are a growing trend that could potentially help you fill your calendar and earn more.
• In late March of 2020, Airbnb saw a 20% increase in Longer Stay bookings as compared to 2019

Activate monthly discounts to encourage longer stays

• Check your listing's availability setting to increase/remove MAX length of stay.
• Add weekly or monthly discounts to your listings, which may encourage guests to book a longer stay at one of your properties

Discounts and promotions: Activate your summer deals!

Statistics and trends

• Current crisis will leave a challenging socio economic landscape for guests
• Families will be heavily affected, although impact will vary per country

What Airbnb recommends

• Consider optimizing your price and applying discounts
• Specially relevant for longer stays and low-demand periods

Set custom promotions to capture nearby customers: At least a 10% custom promotion would highlight your property on Nearby landing page

Airbnb Experiences

Airbnb expanding into Experiences

• 1,000 or more cities with Airbnb Experiences and 50,000 or more experiences worldwide
• Experiences started as a way to compliment your trip (concerts, walking with wolves, cooking classes)
• During COVID-19, Airbnb Experiences became virtual, helping hosts generate income in creative ways
• Meet hosts around the world and locally
• Online experiences have become a way for people to feel like they travel during COVID-19

Make your stay an Experience

• Promote the breakfast and warm welcome
• Provide detail into your cleaning standards
• Target nearby customers
• Promote longer stays
• Describe outdoor activities or rooftops, patios and gardens near your property
• Over-communicate what amenities are available
• Most searched amenities: Wi-Fi, kitchens, A/C and parking
• Offer experiences of a less crowded nature

-Wine tasting
-Hikes or beautiful walks
-Cooking classes
-Picnic kits

Make your stay an Experience

• Promote the breakfast and warm welcome
• Provide detail into your cleaning standards
• Target nearby customers
• Promote longer stays
• Describe outdoor activities or rooftops, patios and gardens near your property
• Over-communicate what amenities are available
• Most searched amenities: Wi-Fi, kitchens, A/C and parking
• Offer experiences of a less crowded nature

-Wine tasting
-Hikes or beautiful walks
-Cooking classes
-Picnic kits