Airbnb announced Monday it has formed a partnership with Concur Technologies as part of its move to focus more on business users.
A section of the website is being made for professionals who are looking for places to stay while on business trips, according to USA Today. Lex Bayer, head of business development and global payments at Airbnb, said the company will focus accommodations on homes and apartments for business clients and provide access to Wi-Fi and the Internet, as well as other important features.
"It's about making it easier to find accommodations that are appropriate for work trips," Bayer said.
The new partnership will let Airbnb offer Concur's TripLink service to its users, TechCrunch reported. The service is set to be completely integrated with Airbnb by the end of this fall, and is aimed at letting employees from companies participating take care of expenses for trips they book on Airbnb. The integration is also slated to help traveling managers keep track of where employees are staying better.
Airbnb is directly working with other tech companies and startups to get their employees to use its platform for booking business trips. Over 35 of these companies, which include Salesforce, Lyft, Evernote and Eventbrite, have already been signed up to form new policies for business traveling that accept its listings.
Bayer said he doesn't expect the new service to suit "road warriors" who constantly travel from place to place, USA Today reported.
"This is really about for leisurely business travelers," he said. "More people are combining business trips with leisurely travel."
Chip Conley, head of global hospitality at Airbnb, said its service is being used more to find places for larger groups, longer stays, and relocations, Mashable reported.
"Nearly 10% of Airbnb's customers travel for business already and we've heard from customers that this type of offering is high on their wish list," Conley said.
The move follows two weeks after the introduction of Airbnb's new philosophy "Belong Anywhere" as part of a rebranding effort, USA Today reported. The new website focuses more on photos and features a Discover option designed for explorers.
"Business travelers, they wanna feel like they belong," Bayer said. "They wanna feel like a piece of that trip is familiar. It's a place where they can stay and feel cozy."
