Hi Danae,

I was a supporter of Airbnb for work, we wrote a policy that for Tulane support/reimbursement, they must book this type of property due to additional vetting, elite support with a phone number to call (unheard of with these types of companies), and we had and account manager who conducted training for our bookers and jumped in to assist with any issues that may arise. We met with Risk Management and totally changed their views on this being allowed in our policy. We were even the first university to turn on Airbnb search results in Concur, for work properties only. First they unpartnered with Concur, then they dropped our account management, the phone numbers and instructions for elite service for these properties are no longer working and I've not heard a word from Airbnb since the pandemic started. I've tried to reach out as well, they have basically dropped their business incentives (not that we received discounts) and honestly I don't require our travelers to book for work properties anymore, what is the point really. They can book a 5 star with good reviews that has the amenities they are looking for, there is no difference really. Tulane spent over $250K with airbnb yearly and it was growing, not sure why they didn't value our business. I'm extremely disappointed in Airbnb for dropping business customers the way they did, with zero outreach or service. I do allow our travelers and students to book Airbnb, but they are on their own, we are no longer supporting or marketing booking with Airbnb, or the business model, some use VRBO now or whatever they are comfortable with, but they must get pre-approval. This is mostly for our extended stay travelers and students do it without oversight, we cannot stop it.

In addition, I have heard some hesitancy to book privately owned properties from the LGBTQ+ community. They have posted on some social media sites and I've personally heard this. I would suggest to these booking sites or private owners should add an LGBTQ+ friendly community message or sign, because it's much more difficult if someone books a privately owned rental and ends up in an unfriendly or hostile situation.

I was a supporter, but now I'm not, sorry for the lengthy response. I'm not saying I wouldn't rent through Airbnb personally, but I don't feel comfortable supporting it in my travel program right now.

Like Laney, we also had a campus partnership with Airbnb. We advocated for and promoted these properties as solutions to many of our traveling populations (understanding it's not a great fit for all travelers) and were gaining traction. We also had a relationship with Airbnb Experiences, where our campus population could have a variety of hands-on or online experiences (cooking class, tours, dance lessons - we even had a retirement party where we went on a virtual tour of a working sheep farm in New Zealand!).

We were very disappointed when Airbnb dropped Experiences and higher ed.

We will always have travelers that prefer that sort of lodging experience and as Laney said, we can't stop them from booking. We will reimburse for Airbnb stays and will continue to keep information available to travelers on our internal website ( https://blink.ucsd.edu/travel/partners/airbnb/index.html) but we no longer actively market Airbnb.

While my institution does not currently have a policy specifically on the use of AirBnB, we have utilized it in the past for students and employees, where it made business sense. What that means in practical terms is that we would have assessed whether the AirBnB costs (including the many and varied fees) were comparable to the local market rate for a hotel, and if it was meeting a need that a hotel might not.

Based on that criteria it was more common for an AirBnB to be utilized when there was a longer stay, as the cleaning and other fees would be less on a per night basis, and also the amenities (such as laundry) would make more sense.

Hello,
Currently UMD will only reimburse for AirBnB, VRBOs and other similar housing as we will not be held liable for any damages to the property. We received an email yesterday from the State that state employees are no longer allowed to use AirBnB's. We are considered state employees so I have our Director of Management Advisory Services looking into this.