Airbnb’s Search Shakeup Wasn’t Good Enough for Global Nomads


Skift Take

Remote work-friendly homes need to have more than a desk and verified Wi-Fi. Airbnb may have missed a trick after carrying out its "biggest change in a decade."

Airbnb’s latest alterations to how it allows people to search for places to stay was billed by CEO Brian Chesky as the "biggest change in a decade." Maybe so, but some digital nomads feel shortchanged by a brand that’s championing a new age of mobility. The home-sharing platform reorganized its search around curated categories earlier this month, expanding them from a limited number to 56, with room to grow. Chesky has previously said workplace changes on the horizon meant traditional business travel reduces as more people will be untethered from not just offices, but their home cities too. Despite these comments, and the category revamp, experts say many digital nomads felt Airbnb had failed to address their needs with its new search criteria. Coffee Tables and Stools The main issues were failing to filter spaces by verified fast Wi-Fi and homes that offered a genuine workspace. "You can look on Airbnb and a lot of listings will post their Wi-Fi speeds, but not a ton of them yet," said Leah Ziliak, a community experience consultant. "You're having to sift through them to see if there are reviews — is the Wifi good enough for video calls, those sorts of things. And that could be something that could be easily implemented into the Airbnb platform already." While a dedicated workspace can be listed in the amenities section of a listing, she said that too was difficult to search through. "It's just all over the map. Sometimes a dedicated wo