Global – Airbnb is addressing consumer concerns about the cost of living and inflation with a renewed focus on renting out single rooms to travellers at a more budget-friendly rate. The short-term rental app will launch a range of features, labelled Airbnb Rooms, to encourage users to rent single rooms.
New features will include the ability to search for private rooms with an en suite bathroom and to check if rooms have internal or external locks to ensure they have a minimum level of privacy before booking. The average price for an Airbnb room in the UK is £59 ($73, €67) a night, while globally more than 80% of rooms cost less than £80 ($100, €92).
‘One of the things we know that’s on people’s mind is inflation and the possibility of a recession,’ Nate Blecharczyk, co-founder of the company, told The Guardian. ‘So money really matters and we think that Private Rooms is a very compelling value proposition.’ As discussed in our Neo-collectivism macrotrend report, organisations that unite around values of empathy and thoughtfulness towards community can build long-lasting connections with their consumers.
Strategic opportunity
Consumers expect brands they spend money on to embrace collective responsibility. As a business, what strategies have you implemented to offer support and empathy during the cost of living crisis?
