Airbnb’s flexible search focuses on where you’re traveling, not when

Airbnb is acknowledging the realities of travel in the remote work era

Engadget: Travel is still hurting due to the pandemic, but Airbnb wants to be ready for that moment when people are comfortable heading out again — even if remote work has changed how they book trips.

It’s introducing a Flexible Dates search option that shies away from choosing exact days in favor of general time frames. You can look for a weekend in June or a months-long stay during the summer, for instance.

Airbnb hopes this will give you more options for places to go in an era when you might not need to return to a physical office after your vacation.

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Searches are limited to homes, and Airbnb notes that the feature doesn’t account for COVID-19 travel restrictions. You’ll still need to be sure it’s legal and safe to go.

Flexible Dates search should be “widely available” now across Airbnb’s apps and websites.

It’s easy to see some of the more pragmatic reasons behind the new option. When the pandemic winds down, there may be a surge of people eager to travel for its own sake, and not too particular about when they go.

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The new search selection could facilitate Airbnb to maximize that demand. the corporate conjointly hopes this can help hosts realize a lot of customers. once the pandemic has gutted the travel business, this might mean the distinction between a bunch staying with Airbnb or exploit home rentals entirely.