Airbnb says employees can work remotely forever

Airbnb said on Thursday that its employees would be permanently able to work from anywhere – including their home, the office or while traveling in different countries.

Employees who work in lower cost-of-living areas won’t see their compensation change, Airbnb chief executive officer Brian Chesky said in an email to staff, adding that the company would host regular in-person meet-ups and retreats.

Chesky said that the move was part of a broader shift at the company to accommodate remote work.

“The world is becoming more flexible about where people can work,” Chesky wrote in the email. “We see this in our own business. We wouldn’t have recovered so quickly from the pandemic had it not been for millions of people working from Airbnbs.”

In January, Chesky said he would live and work out of Airbnbs for several months. It’s a choice that became increasingly popular after the start of the pandemic, according to the company.

Nearly half of nights booked on Airbnb between July and December were part of stays that were one month or longer, the company said, and in the past year 175,000 people used the platform to book stays for three months or longer. Airbnb said it has added more than 150 updates, including verified Wi-Fi connections, to support remote-work trends.

The company also said it would work with governments and travel destinations to build out support for people living abroad for an extended period while working.