Work from home away from home: Booking.com introduces Work-Friendly Program to meet the evolving needs of business travellers and remote workers

As remote working becomes the new norm, and with location independence becoming an increasingly viable option, it’s no surprise that more and more people are looking for inspiration beyond the four walls of their home office. Over time, there is an increased demand for more secluded and private environments due to health and safety concerns, as well as vacation-style rentals for longer stays and this trend is likely to continue as pandemic recovery begins.

Keeping this evolving trend in mind, Booking.com, the world’s digital travel leader, has introduced a new Work-Friendly badge on their website and mobile app, highlighting and increasing visibility of work-friendly alternative accommodations like homes and apartments for both business travellers and leisure travellers looking to work remotely. This will help provide travellers the required information to pick the right accommodation for their needs, wherever their travels take them. 

To receive the Work Friendly badge, properties must meet high quality service requirements, including great reviews and a cleanliness score of 8 or higher, as well as key amenities such as free wi-fi, dedicated workspace and TV. Considering the ability to provide an invoice and duty of care elements, such as smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and more, are key to corporate travel, therefore properties with a Work-Friendly badge must also offer these services and amenities to customers.

Value for travellers

In order to make it easier for travellers looking to extend their holiday and find what they are looking for, Booking.com has also updated the search experience, including filters for customers looking for private, whole home accommodations; as well as providing flexibility around cancellation policies to the travellers. Alongside simplifying its search experience to help travellers find their next stay, Booking.com has also introduced weekly and monthly rate plans on its platform for those who are looking for longer stays with a great price.

Value for accommodation partners

In order to meet the work-friendly accommodation demands of travellers, Booking.com is also working with its partner community to equip them with the right tools through the Work-Friendly Program. The new program is set to benefit home and apartment partners in rebuilding their business by capturing business bookers or remote workers who are increasingly choosing vacation rentals to work from anywhere. This includes helping them through insights on traveller demands for the right work-friendly infrastructure and listing properties that meet this criteria on the Booking.com platform at no extra cost. The amenities and policy requirements include flexible rate plans, key amenities such as free Wi-Fi, work space and TV, and vacation rental essentials such as toiletries and a private bathroom attached to each room to ensure highest level of cleanliness and traveller safety.

Commenting on the work-friendly program, Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com said, “As business travel continues to evolve , Booking.com is working to bring business and leisure travellers looking to work from the road, the information they need to easily find the right home or apartment for their trip, wherever their travels take them. By introducing the Work-Friendly Program we want to help travellers identify the home properties and meet their business requirements as well as help our accommodation partners maximise their occupancy by attracting new types of travellers. Looking ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to surface relevant and key information to travellers on our platform and in turn support our partners.”