Airbnb Tells Employees They Can Work Remotely Forever

Airbnb told its 6,000 employees on Thursday that they would have the option to permanently work remotely, joining a growing number of companies that have ditched return-to-office plans, including Zillow and PwC. Airbnb also told its U.S. employees that they could move to anywhere in the country without a reduction to their compensation.

Airbnb previously aimed to return employees to the office in September 2022. But unsurprisingly, its chief executive, Brian Chesky, has been a proponent of workplace models that give people more flexibility to travel, noting that about one in five guests last year reported using Airbnb to work remotely.

Airbnb’s remote-work policy is the latest in its efforts to encourage people to use Airbnb listings as pseudo-offices. About 10 percent of American workers are still remote, down from one-third in May 2020 at the height of pandemic lockdowns. Last summer, the company introduced Live Anywhere on Airbnb, a yearlong program that gave 12 people the chance to travel the globe while working from Airbnb locations.

Taking another tack, some tech companies, like Google and Microsoft, have tried in recent weeks to create office environments that are as alluring as vacation spots, offering games like corn hole, along with fried chicken and wine tastings for employees going back to their commutes.