Airbnb is gradually criss-crossing the entire international business travel landscape. For the moment, only Australia - TMC's home market - and neighbouring New Zealand are covered by the partnership with Airbnb unveiled on 12 July by FCM Travel Solutions. But there is no doubt that the business travel agency intends to extend this agreement beyond the southern hemisphere.
Australia's TMC - now represented in France byformer 3mundinow known as FCM France - is now offering its customers the catalogue "Business Travel Ready from Airbnb. Nearly 3 million accommodations tailored to the needs of business customers are available worldwide. They include wifi, workspaces and a 24-hour check-in. In addition to the business travel label developed by the leader in the collaborative economy, companies can also pre-approve a list of accommodations, making them part of their travel policy.
The initial tests carried out by FCM and Airbnb appear to be conclusive, as employees gave their experience an average score of 4.76/5 starsfor an average price of 55 euros per night.
FCM Travel Solutions is not the first business travel company to turn to Airbnb to modernise its accommodation offering and adapt to the new habits of business travellers. Just one year ago, in mid-July, the three major TMCs - American ExpressCWT and BCD Travel - had already approached the collaborative platform, which has also set up its own network. associated with Airplusthe specialist in payment solutions for business travel. The challenges are varied: rationalising expenditure, locating travellers to ensure their duty of protection, avoiding frustrating professionals attracted by this alternative offer, often linked to bleisure. A trend that is now impossible to deny for traditional market players, with the number of business trips on Airbnb reported to have tripled in 2016. " Employees from 250,000 companies in 230 countries have already registered to use Airbnb services for their work" says the press release.
