While everyone is aware of companies that have taken steep losses during the pandemic, some have done very well indeed, and not just Zoom. Airbnb earlier this month reported third-quarter profits up 280% over the year before, and had the highest revenue and net income ever.
But with the pandemic and the profits, the company has also seen many changes, including a big shift to people renting Airbnb spaces for longer periods. Founder and CEO Brian Chesky told the Washington Post that 20% of its rentals are now for a month or longer, with people having the flexibility to work remotely for extended periods of time.
There’s also been a significant increase in week-or-longer bookings. And, at the long end, over 100,000 stays of three months or more have been logged in 2021.
Chesky says those changes have changed how the company operates, That includes a new insurance plan called AirCover to protect its hosts from damage costs. The plan, which Airbnb does not charge hosts for, includes $1 million coverage for damage and $1 million for liability. The damage part includes protection from pet damages; with people taking longer trips they are more likely to be bringing pets. Chesky himself has recently become a dog owner.
Changes to the Airbnb website and services are also showing up, including more flexible search filtering and a tool to verify WiFi speeds.
Image: Airbnb CEO Chesky with his new pet
