Airbnb CEO Plans to Work Remotely From Company Listings

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is joining the ranks of individuals working remotely, Yahoo Finance reported Saturday (Jan. 22).

Chesky will reportedly run the vacation rental site from a different Airbnb listing every few weeks, relying on his laptop and a strong Internet connection to run the global company.

According to Chesky, the pandemic is likely “the biggest change to travel since the advent of commercial flying,” with more people working remotely.

As Chesky undertakes his new project, there’s a big push from the platform itself to work with the new growth of decentralized living, as more remote employees take advantage of their newfound flexibility.

In its last quarter, Airbnb reported that one out of every five gross nights booked were for stays of 28 days or more, with half the nights booked for stays of seven days or more, per the report.

Interest in remote work has also grown since the pandemic, with studies showing that demand for it has continued even as the economy has opened up and some COVID restrictions have loosened.

According to Glassdoor, job searches for remote work surged over 300% between June 2019 and June 2021.

Last month, PYMNTS reported that while remote work has offered new opportunities to many, that structure cannot work for businesses like restaurants or brick-and-mortar retail stores.

Read more: Work-from-Home Trend Not Working for Stores Whose Clientele is Mainly Office Workers

Additionally, foot traffic has dwindled in downtown hubs where more employees have been working remotely. As some businesses were originally designed to cater to office workers, the new focus on remote work has been a hindrance.

According to a CNN report that quoted Goldman Sachs economists, office attendance has been sitting at around a third of what it was pre-pandemic, with employees who work remotely logically spending less on train tickets and other items they’d typically buy in downtown business centers.