Daily Buzz: Airbnb’s Meetings Expansion

For travelers who want to immerse themselves in their destination’s local culture, Airbnb is often the platform of choice for booking accommodations. Now, Airbnb is expanding to help companies attract, retain, and motivate talent by offering services to support meetings and other local business activities.

“In today’s hyper-competitive talent environment, once you’ve recruited great employees, you want to keep them,” the company wrote today  (opens in a new tab), announcing an expansion of Airbnb for Work, a part of its platform reserved for business travelers.  “The spaces where people spend time away from the office make a big difference. Sterile conference rooms aren’t motivating and don’t foster creativity. However, relaxing and productive environments help people open up to connect and contribute; they help teams achieve their shared goals more effectively.”

The Airbnb for Work expansion includes three new features. Businesses can now access Airbnb Experiences, which allows travelers to book tours and events for their vacations, to arrange team-building activities. Home listings can now be used for off-site meetings, and employers can now book temporary housing for employees relocating for work.

This latest growth is just another step for Airbnb, which TechCrunch says  (opens in a new tab) has spent most of 2018 continuing its expansion into a hospitality powerhouse.

Conferences That Grab Attention

How does your #association  (opens in a new tab) allocate attention in a world of data overload?https://t.co/qwB4FMlSuZ  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab) #myXDP  (opens in a new tab)

— The Collaboratory (@TheArtOfCollab) September 4, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

All the energy and excitement at conferences can produce sensory overload that often leaves attendees feeling overwhelmed. Delivering content that rises above the noise and delivers real value to attendees can be challenging.

In a post for Forbes  (opens in a new tab), Robert C. Wolcott describes the three factors that “generate a preponderance of value” at meetings and events: purpose, focus, and people.

Other Links of Note

Ensuring that your volunteers have a satisfying experience is what will keep them coming back—and that starts with understanding what drives them, says Web Scribble  (opens in a new tab).

What works in marketing and advertising is always changing. The HubSpot blog gives a comprehensive guide to the industry in 2018  (opens in a new tab).

Let’s face it: Presentations can be boring. Here are three tips to keep people engaged  (opens in a new tab), from Entrepreneur.

(GoodLifeStudio/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images Plus)