Peer-to-peer lodging site Airbnb is taking hospitality on the go with the launch of its new app for Apple Watch.
Airbnb’s Apple Watch app will facilitate instantaneous communication between hosts and guests as they manage new or upcoming trips.
“Airbnb is about more than just a place to lay your head; it is about providing a great experience during your whole trip, and the Apple Watch is the perfect way for Airbnb to stay with you wherever you are,” Alex Schleifer, Airbnb’s head of design, said in a company blog post yesterday (Sept. 3) announcing the release.
“Our hosts want to deliver personal hospitality to every guest, and messaging through Airbnb for Apple Watch app is one of the first and fastest ways they can create a long-lasting connection.”
Through the Apple Watch app, hosts will be able to receive new booking requests right on their wrists, as well as accept or decline on the spot. The request will also display the traveler’s name and photo, requested dates and personal messages from them.
“After you’ve booked a place, that’s only the beginning of an experience,” Airbnb Experience Architecture Team Lead Keenan Cummings told TechCrunch.
“Your travel experience is a lot about the communication between the guest and host. Messaging is really core to that. So, for the host, it’s all about responsiveness, the ability to communicate quickly. For guests, it’s about access to the host.”
The launch of a new Apple Watch app comes at a time when Airbnb is relishing in the apparent success of its recent enterprise initiatives, which, according to the company, is looking pretty good.
Airbnb said that within 24 hours of launching that program, it saw more than 500 companies signing on to use the platform. As of last month, the company reported more than 1,000 companies were using the corporate travel services.
“The corporate community’s response to our Business Travel program has been staggering and confirms our findings that business travelers increasingly want to redefine the business trip,” said Airbnb Business Travel Lead Marc McCabe in a statement.
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