What changing Airbnb rental trends tells us about the future of work

When Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky stated that “the pandemic has disrupted the way we live and travel forever,” Nick Goddard (Head of Development at ABSTRACT) found himself scouring their available data for insight into how that disruption might impact the future. And what he discovered suggests we’re probably just at the start of a period of profound and sustained change. And no, we’re not talking about the future of tourism, but the future of work.

Right now, guests are booking longer stays at Airbnb rentals than at any point in the platform’s history, with around 20% of bookings for one month or longer. The likes of WIFI, pet friendliness, and self-catering facilities are now the top filters for this growing body of long-stayers.

This ties in with a recent survey, which found that 63% of respondents now expect more flexibility from their employers, with a third revealing they plan to live somewhere else for a time while working remotely.

In short, we’re currently seeing a new era of free-roaming remote workers, untethered from the commute, and eager to take advantage of the freedom many employers are offering.

In the last year or more, some of the largest organisations in the world announced plans to extend remote working indefinitely. The same has been overheard being said by some clients at ABSTRACT.

ABSTRACT believe this will prove to be a long-term shift in working patterns, and not because the ‘big players’ are leading the way. In fact, they don’t believe the choice in whether remote working is the way to go or not will be decided in the boardroom.

That decision has already been made, more than likely. by the people who make up bulk of our workforce. We’re seeing it play out right now as millions of people around the globe, many of whom are in mid-career roles, quit their jobs. They’re rethinking what they want from their careers and lives, looking at what their employers are offering, and then leaping headfirst into what has become a very buoyant jobs market.

A time of opportunity… for some

ABSTRACT have been astounded by the volume and quality of candidates applying for their latest role. People with rising careers in large and well-known organisations, are eager to take on a new role that offers flexibility and freedom.

This also informs us that a lot of organisations, both huge and small, are going to leak a great deal of mid-career talent if they don’t find a way to adapt to the new landscape. They’re going to find themselves with graduate level entrants, senior leaders, and not much in between.

The future of your work

Now is the time to ask yourself: What am I doing to engage, retain and develop my most talented people? What am I doing to attract the abundance of talent that is out there right now?

When it comes to retaining and engaging your people, ABSTRACT’s range of mid-career development programmes are the perfect first step. These courses will equip your managers with the tools to lead and inspire, and provide your mid-career talent with the support and skills they need to stay loyal to your brand, and re-calibrate their career objectives to a new era.

And with fresh masterclasses regularly added to ABSTRACT’s events library, including the likes of ‘developing a commercial culture in a hybrid world’ and ‘promoting personal brands and profiles’, they are here to ensure you keep pace with sweeping changes.

Call this a warning, or a wake up call, but at a time when people are looking for ways to change how they work, your business needs to adapt if you want to retain your best people, and attract new talent.

ABSTRACT will provide you with the capability to thrive during the great resignation. Get in touch with them today.