Airbnb Tweaks Landing Page as it Makes Preps for the Future

Airbnb introducing tweaks to its landing page and rolling out new features in a bid to step up longer-term stays, now that the online rental marketplace looks to capitalize on a growing segment of its business.

A news report posted on the Techcrunch website indicates that the changes are being rolled out just days after Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company had raised $1 billion and laid out plans to direct its attention and new funds toward three core products: hosts, long-term stays and Airbnb experiences. 

Airbnb raised the $1 billion in debt and equity from private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners, the news report goes on to state.

Chesky acknowledged Monday that while the desire to connect and travel has been reinforced during this time, the “way it manifests will evolve as the world changes.”

Airbnb is betting how and where people work will evolve; in the company’s view, it’s heading toward longer-term stays. Recent data shared by Airbnb supports that view. In the last two weeks of March, the company saw the number of guests booking longer-term stays within their same cities nearly double. 

Meanwhile, 80% of Airbnb hosts now accept longer-term stays and about half of the company’s active listings now provide discounts for stays of one month or longer.

Airbnb will change its main landing page to highlight longer-term stays. The company introduced a new notification for hosts to educate them on the benefits of longer-term stays, as well as a guide to update their listings to accept these types of bookings. Airbnb has decided to make that a permanent feature in the portal that hosts use to manage their listings.

When the new landing page launches, Airbnb will have more than 1 million listings that offer monthly stays, according to the company. These homes are equipped with the kinds of amenities required for a longer stay, such as kitchens, laundry facilities and Wi-Fi.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted travel and sparked a need among healthcare and other essential workers to find places to stay in their own cities, has contributed to that growth.