Carrie Kissell spent nearly three months on a sailboat after Airbnb told her she could live and work anywhere. "When the work day was over, I'd close my laptop and you know, go snorkeling," she says. Carrie Kissell hide caption
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Carrie Kissell
Carrie Kissell spent nearly three months on a sailboat after Airbnb told her she could live and work anywhere. "When the work day was over, I'd close my laptop and you know, go snorkeling," she says.
Carrie Kissell
When Carrie Kissell learned that her employer Airbnb was letting people live and work anywhere, she was on a sailboat off the coast of Key Biscayne, enjoying some time off with her partner.
The thought came to her: Why not just stay on the boat?
"It was this opportunity I couldn't not take," says Kissell, an internal events planner formerly based in San Francisco.
Her weekday routine for the next three months was typical — eat breakfast, open laptop, attend meetings, get stuff done.
"And then when the workday was over, I'd close my laptop and you know, go snorkeling," she says.
Work from home, work from the office, work from Argentina
At a time when more and more workers are finding themselves back in their offices at least a few days a week, Airbnb is going full throttle on flexibility. This week marks one year since the company announced its Live and Work Anywhere policy, and now, it's time to gloat.
Airbnb first announced its Live and Work Anywhere policy in April 2022. Since then, about 20% of employees have relocated domestically or worked abroad. Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
Airbnb first announced its Live and Work Anywhere policy in April 2022. Since then, about 20% of employees have relocated domestically or worked abroad.
Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
"The business has actually never performed better since we moved to this program," says Airbnb Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson. "It's working really well for us."
Other companies, including tech ones, are taking a very different path.
The Pew Research Center found that among people whose jobs can be done remotely, just over a third are still working from home all the time, down from 43% a year ago.
At Airbnb, all but a very few employees have a choice: They can work from home (anywhere in the country where they're based), or they can go into an Airbnb office (there are 26 of them around the world).
Regardless of where they live, they keep their same salary.
And they aren't bound by geography, with the company allowing them to work in over 170 other countries for up to 90 days per year per country. Airbnb is talking to governments abroad about making it easier for all people to work around the world.
Talent doesn't want to be tied down
There is an obvious business interest here. People who can jet off somewhere with their laptops are potential Airbnb guests and hosts.
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Freeing people from the office has also provided savings for the company, whose office footprint is now less than half of what it was before the pandemic.
Still, Stephenson insists that Live and Work Anywhere is really about winning the global war for talent.
"The best talent in the world is not all within a 50-mile radius of San Francisco," he says.
And that talent, Stephenson says, no longer wants to be tied down.
Before the pandemic, 95% of Airbnb employees lived near a company office. Now, almost a quarter of employees are more than 50 miles from an office, beyond a comfortable commute.
Steve Stecher and his wife Ana Ruiz and their children have spent most of their time in Argentina since last fall. To avoid overstaying the maximum time Airbnb allows in one country, they've also been exploring other parts of South America, including Valparaíso, Chile, pictured here. Steve Stecher hide caption
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Steve Stecher
Steve Stecher and his wife Ana Ruiz and their children have spent most of their time in Argentina since last fall. To avoid overstaying the maximum time Airbnb allows in one country, they've also been exploring other parts of South America, including Valparaíso, Chile, pictured here.
Steve Stecher
A migration out of San Francisco
Steve Stecher has gone even farther than an hour's drive.
Stecher moved his family out of a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco during the pandemic, and since last fall they have spent most of their time in Buenos Aires.
That has dramatically changed their financial picture, says Stecher, a senior manager of quality assurance at Airbnb.
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"Don't repeat this to my boss, but I think it's about 30%, or maybe 40% maximum, of the cost of living in the Bay Area," he says.
Stecher manages a team of about 140 people, many of whom have also moved out of California, but primarily to the Midwest and East Coast where they have family, he says.
"We did used to have a lot of fun in person," Stecher says about one of the tradeoffs in his new life.
Airbnb now flies teams in for regular in-person gatherings, which the company sees as critical to success.
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"We are not remote first. We are just being intentional about how we gather," says Stephenson. "It's not a random three days a week where you hope to run into people at a water cooler."
Deploying a team called Ground Control, Airbnb works to ensure that the right people are in the right place at the right time for these large gatherings.
"We're still learning the right rhythms for when people are getting together," Stephenson says. "I think that's the biggest challenge that we have."
Benny Etienne, who works for Ground Control based out of Airbnb's Montreal office, spent much of the winter and spring in Mexico. "The change of scenery has a huge impact on your mental health," she says. Benny Etienne hide caption
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Benny Etienne
Benny Etienne, who works for Ground Control based out of Airbnb's Montreal office, spent much of the winter and spring in Mexico. "The change of scenery has a huge impact on your mental health," she says.
Benny Etienne
Catering to different needs, and a healthy bottom line
Airbnb added 900,000 hosts last year, reaching a total of 6.6 million worldwide. Revenue growth has been strong. Stephenson sees these as signs the company is moving in the right direction.
Moreover, employees are happy. Airbnb's attrition rate is close to an all-time low and falling, the company says.
And Airbnb's goal of hiring more women and under-represented minorities has gotten a boost from the new policy.
"Now that we're in a live anywhere context, it really gives us an opportunity to cater to different needs," says Benny Etienne, a leader of Black@, the company's affinity group for Black employees. "Within a diverse group, we all have very diverse identities and diverse realities."
So far, only about 20% of Airbnb employees have taken advantage of Live and Work Anywhere to relocate domestically or travel abroad.
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Etienne, who works for Ground Control out of Airbnb's Montreal office, is encouraging anyone who can take their work somewhere else to try it, at least for a week.
"The change of scenery has a huge impact on your mental health," she says on a call from Mérida, Mexico, where she's spent most of the winter and spring.
Further south, the savings that Stecher and his family have enjoyed since leaving San Francisco have allowed his wife Ana Ruiz, who worked in banking, to stay home with their children in Buenos Aires and also to travel, something the family is passionate about.
"We were just in our own little world in the U.S.," says Ruiz, who grew up in Mexico. "Now, to be in different parts of the world and live the culture and experience the food... and speaking a different language, it's just amazing. It's just so nice."
FAQs
Is Airbnb letting employees work from anywhere? ›
To recap, here's our design for living and working anywhere: You can work from home or the office. You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won't change. You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world.
Did Airbnb just announced one of the most flexible work policies in the world? ›Airbnb just announced one of the most flexible work policies in the world. Work from any office or your home. Live anywhere in the country and get paid the same no matter where you live. You can even live abroad for 90 days at a time in a country- then hop from country to country!
Can Airbnb employees work remotely forever? ›The company, a proponent of more flexible workplace models, previously set a September 2022 date for a return to its offices.
Does Airbnb pay remote workers the same? ›They'll be earning the same salary wherever it is in their country they choose to live. Some companies have started requiring their employees to come into the office a few times a week now that most people have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
How many people were laid off from Airbnb? ›Airbnb has laid off 30% of its recruiting staff, amid a slowdown in hiring at the San-Francisco based company. A small percentage of Airbnb's 6,800 employees were cut, a spokesperson told Bloomberg, adding that the move is not a prelude to more widespread layoffs.
What is the work from anywhere policy? ›Work From Anywhere Definition
Work from anywhere (WFA) is a flexible approach to working, where a company or organisation empowers their employees to work productively and autonomously from anywhere, while remaining aligned and connected with company culture and goals.
At Airbnb, all but a very few employees have a choice: They can work from home (anywhere in the country where they're based), or they can go into an Airbnb office (there are 26 of them around the world). Regardless of where they live in their home country, they keep their same salary.
Is Airbnb laying off employees? ›Video Transcript. SEANA SMITH: Airbnb laying off about 30% of its recruiting staff, even though the lodging rental company saying that it still plans to expand its overall headcount this year. Now these latest cuts come less than two years after a 25% reduction in staff in the early days of the pandemic.
Can Airbnb host monitor you? ›To help provide Hosts and guests with peace of mind, security measures like security cameras and noise monitoring devices are allowed, as long as they are clearly disclosed in the listing description and don't infringe on another person's privacy.
Can you live full time in Airbnb? ›Monthly Rentals on Airbnb
Fully furnished rentals include a kitchen and the amenities you need to live comfortably for a month or longer. It's the perfect alternative to a sublet. Special rates for longer stays and a single monthly payment without additional charges.
Does Airbnb pay employees well? ›
Airbnb pays $77 per hour or $159,730 per year on average in California. Salaries at Airbnb range from an average of $113,000 to $225,000 a year.
Does Airbnb pay bonus? ›Airbnb does offer performance bonuses, which is a very important thing to be aware of when negotiating, especially when other companies you are talking to don't offer a comparable bonus structure.
What percentage do Airbnb hosts pay to Airbnb? ›Most Hosts pay a flat service fee of 3% of the booking subtotal. The subtotal is your nightly price plus any optional fees you charge guests, like a cleaning fee, and doesn't include Airbnb fees and taxes.
What is the Airbnb employee scandal? ›In a chat room for female Airbnb employees after the layoffs, one laid-off worker described three instances of sexual harassment while at the company, saying that human resources was unhelpful and that co-workers brushed it off, according to an image of the conversation viewed by The Times.
How much does the average person make with Airbnb? ›| State | Annual Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|
| California | $58,143 | $27.95 |
| New Hampshire | $57,648 | $27.72 |
| Massachusetts | $57,399 | $27.60 |
| Hawaii | $57,075 | $27.44 |
If you can accommodate the larger group, send your guest a trip change that includes the additional cost per night for the extra guests. If you're unable to accommodate the larger number of guests, let your guest know that your place isn't the right fit for their group, and ask them to cancel their reservation.
Can you live anywhere and work remotely? ›Yes, you can work remotely from another country. However, that answer also depends on several factors related to employment laws, taxes, visas, and data protection.
Can you live anywhere and work from home? ›U.S. National remote jobs can be worked from anywhere in the U.S. Anywhere remote jobs can be done from anywhere in the world. Remote jobs by state lets you find jobs that you can do from specific states in the U.S.
Can remote employees work out of state? ›A person who lives and works remotely in Washington, for example, can perform work for a company that is based in California without having to pay California state taxes. However, remote workers who travel to other states and work from there may have to file a nonresident state tax return.
Do Airbnb hosts have hidden cameras? ›Can Airbnb hosts watch you on cameras? Technically, yes. They have to have the cameras only in “common areas” and must disclose that there are cameras in the rental, though.
Can Airbnb use hidden cameras? ›
Intentionally concealed recording devices (such as hidden security cameras) are never permitted. Airbnb prohibits security cameras or recording devices that are in or that observe private spaces like bedrooms, bathrooms, or sleeping areas.
What percent do Airbnb hosts keep? ›The host pays a flat rate of 3% of the total booking cost and the guest pays a percentage of their reservation fee (this is somewhere between 5-20% depending on the length of stay, the location, and the cost of the reservation to start with).
Can I manage my Airbnb from another state? ›The simple answer is Yes! With the right knowledge and the right real estate investment tool, owning Airbnb out of state can definitely succeed. The article will guide you as to why Airbnb remotely will be a great idea.
Can government employees stay in Airbnb? ›Generally, no. Airbnb is considered “non- conventional lodging” and can only be used when no other “conventional lodging” is available.
What state uses Airbnb the most? ›Florida: Airbnb's Hot Spot
1 with more than 3,400 Airbnb listings per 50,000 people.
Remote Airbnb management doesn't have to be difficult. Many Airbnb hosts already manage their Airbnbs remotely with great returns. You can, too. The key is implementing processes that both exceed guest expectations and make it easy for you to manage Airbnbs from afar.
What state makes the most money on Airbnb? ›According to Tipalti's study, Hawaii is the US state with the highest average annual host earnings. There, Airbnb hosts make, on average, a whopping $73,247 per year.
Are Airbnb hosts allowed to watch you? ›Airbnb prohibits security cameras or recording devices that are in or that observe private spaces like bedrooms, bathrooms, or sleeping areas. You must indicate the presence of all security cameras or other recording devices in or around a listing, even if they're not turned on or hooked up.
Do people make a living on Airbnb? ›In many cases, you don't even need to rent out or manage a property to make money and achieve success as an Airbnb professional. Even if you don't have any prior experience, there is a career opportunity for you that can be started as a side hustle or turned into a full-time gig.
Can police evict Airbnb guest? ›So until someone stays long enough on your property to be legally deemed a squatter, they're just trespassers or loiterers. They can be removed by law enforcers.
What are not allowed in Airbnb? ›
Violent or graphic content in a listing description: Hosts shouldn't include images of physical harm in their listing description. Sexually explicit content on Airbnb: Sexually explicit imagery (photos or videos) isn't allowed on Airbnb.