One-third of remote employees would rather quit than go back to work in-person full-time: Airbnb

More than one third (38 per cent) of self-identified remote employees say they would rather quit their jobs than go back to work in-person full-time, a 7,500-consumer survey by Airbnb found. 

The Airbnb survey found changing trends in travel where one-third say that they will live somewhere else after the pandemic while working remotely more often. Nearly half or 45 per cent of the nights booked on Airbnb were for at least one week, compared to 38 per cent two years ago.

Notably, older adults aged 60-90, or adults who are most likely to have retired, used long-term stays on Airbnb more than any other age group.

The majority of respondents say they will be doing more travel during off-peak times (55 per cent) and days (53 per cent), over long weekends (55 per cent), and in the spur of the moment (53 per cent). 

More than 1,00,000 guests have stayed continuously on Airbnb for at least three months in the past year. The survey findings suggest that guests this year are spending more on longer stays than at any point in Airbnb history.

The survey said that in Bangkok and Phuket, Buenos Aires, San Francisco and Arlington, Virginia, at least 50 per cent of recent nights booked were for long-term stays.

“Travelers are seeking out Wi-Fi and workspaces, in keeping with the shift toward remote work, along with kitchens, in keeping with living anywhere. Searches that filtered for listings allowing pets increased by 55 per cent. Searches filtering for listings with Wi-Fi, kitchens and pets nearly doubled (up 95 per cent). Long-term stay searches for listings allowing pets more than doubled (up 128 per cent). Long-term stay searches for listings with laptop-friendly workspaces increased by 73 per cent. Long-term stay searches for listings with Wi-Fi and pets increased by 270 per cent”, the survey said.

As countries worldwide start to loosen their travel restrictions, there is a sudden increase in interest in these countries, and there is a strong demand extending into 2022.

Further, during the week following the October 15 announcement of the US reopening date, nights booked by foreign guests starting November 8 increased by 44 per cent. Among all the places these guests are travelling from, the top-five source cities are London, Paris, Santiago, Toronto and Vancouver. 

"Across all possible trip lengths, between early 2021 and now, the most acceleration in growth for guests has been for trips of more than 3,000 miles from home. Overall, cross-border travel has been increasing steadily throughout the year, from 20 per cent of gross nights booked in the first quarter, to 27 per cent in the second, to 33 per cent in the third," the survey said.