After a moment to acknowledge and accept this sad fact, you finally resort to hotspot for simple social media scrolling, or find the nearest "laptop friendly" coffee shop. Unfortunately, I found myself in this situation and decided to investigate a product solution for Airbnb's wifi listing.
Currently, homeowners are asked if wifi will be provided in their Airbnb without a requirement of further proof. No additional information will be required to check this information until a complaint is raised by a guest... This is where we can see the gap between the traveler's expectations and the listing; there must be a better way to do it.
What is considered good wifi? What makes a listing suitable for remote working? Could this be a particular type of property? These are questions we'll answer in this article.
What if homeowners could run a fast internet test provided by a partnership between Airbnb and "Speedtest"? After allowing access to their network information, the test would run inside the Airbnb experience without downloading any third-party app to get the result.
Once the results are shown, the "remote-friendly" badge will be granted to the listing. It will be visible in refined searches where wifi has been selected as a required amenity by the guest.
When looking forward to staying in their temporary home, guests will have more visibility on the connection strength and the ability to make a more informed decision when booking. The remote working friendly tag can be found on the listing summary under the primary photo, along with the cleaning policy, house rules, and other important information. By tapping learn more, the guest will be able to get more information regarding the internet test results performed by the host.
For guests who plan to take some work calls during their stay, a stable internet connection alone won't be sufficient. For that, we need another element: a dedicated workspace. Therefore, we can take our thinking further by introducing the property tier: Airbnb Work. This tier can be given to homes that meet these two criteria.
The "Airbnb Work" properties could be found through its own filter next to "Airbnb plus" and "Airbnb Luxe." This solution allows matching the travel purpose with the right property type straight from the searching phase. No more surprises at the check-in.
On the listing results, the tag "Work" will be shown in the same manner as the other property types, followed by the remote-friendly tag in the listing summary. Travelers can tap "learn more" to get insights on the wifi test.
In the same way, we've seen cleaning requirements become the new norm after COVID-19; why not make reliable wifi a must-have in the travel space?
Airbnb has a new challenge. Companies such as Outside have prioritised informing travelers about the work amenities provided for each accommodation. From a business perspective, tech nomads are not bound to peak seasons like holidays and tend to travel in group/teams, which make them very likely to book longer stay for more considerable property prices.
