When it comes to business travel, there is a big difference between Airbnb/Vrbo vs. a fully furnished accommodation with an experienced corporate housing company. Travelers have a variety of options for lodging, but not every option is created equal. When on the road for work, businesspeople need to know they can count on fully vetted housing arrangements to address their needs and preferences, while balancing safety and security. These necessary details must be met without the need for constant follow-up.

Differences Between Airbnb and Vrbo vs. Executive Corporate Housing Through an Expert

Some of the primary differences between Airbnb and Vrbo vs. Corporate Housing include:

Location Is Key

Regardless of the business traveler’s destination, there should be options when it comes to location. For example, an individual traveling to Houston whose temporary office will be in the heart of downtown has two options:

1. Find lodging downtown, only minutes away from their temporary workplace
2. Find lodging elsewhere in the city, such as a residential area

Companies that facilitate vacation rentals or home rentals typically do not have as much versatility for multiple locations in a city. They tend to be located in areas targeting more leisure visits and do not always offer the location a business traveler may need. Corporate housing could have a condo in a downtown building, a townhome in a midtown neighborhood, or an apartment closer to a business district outside the city (ex: The Woodlands, TX). This versatility offered by corporate housing allows guests to choose the environment that best suits their specific needs, and a professional expert is better equipped to provide them with more valid choices based on their knowledge of those areas.

Vacation Guests vs. Business Guests

Guests who are vacationing or traveling for leisure may not have as many requirements of their accommodations. The two things that will likely be most important is that their living space accommodates the right number of people and is in close proximity to where they will be spending the majority of their time.

However, a traveling business executive may care less about the number of rooms, and more about location and the ability of the space lending itself to work. In situations where an executive may need to work on a big project from their housing accommodation, it is important to have lodging that is equipped to handle that work. Corporate housing provides plenty of table space, work area options, high speed internet connections, and more.

Privacy and quiet are two things often coveted by business travelers and may not be as easily found in a vacation rental space. With a corporate housing company, privacy, quiet, and business capabilities are a given.

Ownership Continuity

As lovely as some Airbnb and Vrbo spaces can be, there is a wide variety of owners that collectively make up these companies. The issue with this is that although there will be some vacation rental owners who own multiple properties, most will have only one or two rentals. This means that stays in different cities will likely mean different owners with different properties and rules. There is no continuity in this lodging option.

Corporate housing companies are run by hospitality experts and generally have properties and connections available across the nation, and possibly even globally. In this scenario, guests can expect the same level of customer service and expertise they have come to know and trust in previous stays with the company.

There is valuable peace of mind that comes with knowing what to expect and that your corporate housing is uniquely outfitted to serve your business needs.

Policy Problems

When the ownership of temporary housing is different for every stay, policies can be as well. This is problematic in part because a guest never knows what to expect. When it comes to vacation and home rentals, important policy points that can change from owner to owner can include:

• Security deposits: refundable or nonrefundable
• Check-in procedure: time and method of check-in
• Guest cleaning responsibilities: running the dishwasher, taking out the trash, etc.
• Laundry: before exiting some guests may be asked to start a load of laundry
• Rules: guidelines regarding additional guests, noise levels, porch usage, etc.

Collectively, these things can make for a quite a few changes from one rental home to another, with the guest being responsible for ensuring they can abide by a owner’s policies before signing.

Corporate housing will have certain policies regarding check-in procedures, housekeeping services, and general rules, but these tend to be uniform across multiple locations and types of housing. With a standard that guests know to expect, there is less guesswork in what will be expected of them before, during, and after their stay.

Rental and Lease Flexibility

The nature of business is that it is always changing. A short three-day trip can turn into a two week stay if a project hits a sizeable snag. A trip for a store opening that was slated to be a one-week trip can turn into three if a last-minute inspection goes south. For this reason, modern traveling executives know that rental and lease flexibility is key when it comes to their housing.

Since home rentals are commonly used by people vacationing, the owners may have different guests lined up for several weeks or even months. An owner with only one property may not be able to assist if a business traveler needed an extension on their stay. Their needs would not likely be accommodated with another guest due to arrive.

Corporate housing companies have more flexibility when it comes to changes for a lease or rental. In addition, these companies tend to have a wide variety of rentals to choose from. In the event one unit was already spoken for and an extension is needed, it would not be an issue to find a comparable accommodation for the guests to transfer.

Safety and Security

Home rental properties owned by individuals may not conform to the same safety and security standards that corporate housing companies may adhere to. Fully furnished apartments and homes geared toward traveling business executives go above and beyond, taking specific measures to ensure that precautions such as fire alarms, smoke alarms, and exterior lighting are in place and fully operational for the safety and security of guests.

There are many variables when it comes to the differences between Airbnb/Vrbo vs. fully furnished accommodation with an experienced corporate housing company. The bottom line is that there is not a satisfactory substitution for expert guidance in choosing the right lodging to make your current and future business trips a success.