Airbnb Taking Care Of Business

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New research from Concur reveals which industries and segments are driving Airbnb usage in business travel.

The research is based on a subset of Concur customer data representing $77 million in Airbnb spend and more than 320,000 Airbnb expenses over eight quarters.

It indicates that Airbnb usage also showed strong growth over time, including the number of business travelers expensing Airbnb accommodations, which grew 44% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2016.

Tim MacDonald, executive vice-president of Global Products at Concur, said: “Concur travel and expense data shows us that while Airbnb usage is growing across all segments and industries, momentum is strongest among small and midsized businesses (SMB) and in the tech and higher-ed segments.”

MacDonald noted: “While hotel spend still accounts for the majority of business lodging spend, there’s an increase in business travelers exploring alternative lodging, especially during major conferences and events.”

Concur found the number of organizations using Airbnb increased by 32% and overall spend increased by 42% year-over-year, from the second quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016.

The average Airbnb expense was $242, but average cost varied among major U.S. cities.

In Canada, Airbnb usages continues to grow each quarter year-over-year for businesses of all sizes, proving that sharing economy platforms, like Airbnb, are shaking up the way we live and work.

For Canadian SMB’s specifically, Concur has seen spend and frequency grow at almost double the global rates.

Canadian SMB stats from the research show that:

  • Year-over-year (YOY) spend fluctuated between about 200% to 450% growth; most recently between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016 spend grew about 224%.
  • The number of line items grew between about 100% to 300% YOY; most recently between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016 number of line items grew by about 94%.
  • The average expense amount for an Airbnb stay was about $119.27.
  • The average spend per company in Q2 2016 was $1,204.
  • The average number of stays per company in Q2 2016 was 10.

For more, go to http://www.Concur.com .