Homestay.com sees rise in demand from business travel sector

More and more business travellers are choosing to stay in hosted accommodation, attracted by its affordability, home comforts and the experience of having a host or family on hand to give advice and local knowledge.

Booking statistics from hosted accommodation provider Homestay.com reveal that there is a growing demand from business travellers booking homestays for work-related trips, including an increase year on year for female business travellers.

With the average length of stay for business travellers being 10.5 days, considerably more than the stated 6.8 days business travellers on average stay with Airbnb, Homestay.com business travellers are clearly prepared to spend more time in their business destination. Longer business trips tend also to be booked earlier than shorter trips, allowing homestay hosts to prepare for their guests’ arrival and deal with any special requests.

London and Dublin are the most popular business destinations in the world, beating Auckland, Perth and New York in the Homestay business destination top ten.

In the past 12 months all of Homestay’s top 10 business travel destinations have seen a rise in bookings. Business travel is the third most popular reason for travel, after taking a holiday and education.

For both male and female business travellers the location of the accommodation is the most important factor in choosing a homestay, closely followed by friendly communication with the homestay hosts, with value for money the third factor in determining choice of homestay.

In a bid to promote transparency and familiarity between the hosts and their guests, Homestay.com encourages guests to use the video chat facility where they can see their hosts and talk about their upcoming visit. Guests can tailor their search results with a whole range of filters including distance from the city centre, local neighbourhoods, catered meals, amenities including wireless Internet, and even the hosts’ hobbies and special interests.

Each of the Host Profiles also feature reviews from previous travellers, neighbourhood guides and, for many hosts, professional photos of the accommodation.

Alan Clarke, CEO at Homestay.com, said: “The combination of comfort, value for money and the friendliness of staying with a host as compared to staying in a hotel, where you might not talk to anyone, are all contributing factors in choosing a homestay for a business trip. For solo travellers, there is also the added benefit of staying with a family and a host who can give local tips and advice.”

Clarke added that the affordability of choosing homestay accommodation would appeal to new business owners and entrepreneurial start-ups who were looking for value for money, the thrill and experience of staying somewhere different, and actually seeing a city through a local’s eyes.

“If you’re able to get out and experience a new neighbourhood while you’re away on business, it adds something to your work trip that you wouldn’t necessarily get from staying somewhere more conventional,” said Clarke.


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