Airbnb, the world's leading community-driven hospitality company, today announced the launch of a new tool that allows employees to book business travel for co-workers. As business travel has tripled in growth on Airbnb in 2016, this new feature allows business partners like travel managers and executive assistants to be able to book Airbnb listings on behalf of other employees. This new tool adds a whole new dimension to the way companies are able to book listings for all their business travel needs.

Before today, users were unable to designate other travelers in the checkout flow. Starting today, when employees use Airbnb for Business, co-workers can easily book for someone else. Then, both the employee who is managing travel and the employee who is taking the trip can see the trip details, make changes to the reservation and message the Airbnb host with questions about the listing or neighborhood.

"More and more business travelers are choosing to stay with Airbnb while they are on the road, so they get the chance to not just visit, but live in a city, even if it's for one night," said Lex Bayer, Head of Global Payments and Business Development at Airbnb. "Our hosts offer more than just generic hospitality, they help travelers live in the heart of local neighborhoods. We are excited that this product update will introduce a whole new segment of business travelers to this experience."

To date, 50,000 companies have used Airbnb for Business to make a booking and 10 percent of all travel that happens on Airbnb is business travel. To help travelers feel at home when they are on the road, business travelers can choose from thousands of Business Travel Ready listings. With all the essential amenities and services a business traveler needs like free WiFi, laptop-friendly workspaces and 24 hour check-in, Business Travel Ready listings have everything a traveler needs to be successful on the road.

For more information on business travel on Airbnb, please visit: https://airbnb.com/business.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million Hosts who have welcomed over 1.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.

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