How the remote work future could boost Airbnb

Yahoo Finance's Melody Hahm discusses how the remote work future could boost Airbnb.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Let's talk about another IPO that investors are very excited for, that's Airbnb. Lots of questions a couple of months ago about whether or not they were going to be able to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and come out stronger on the other side. Melody Hahm with an interesting take for us. Melody.

MELODY HAHM: Yeah. Seana, they're proving to be more resilient than ever. You know, we've talked so often about the stay-at-home trade and how it's a little bit overblown at this point. But I think we can amend that phrase to work from anywhere. Folks are hunkering down, but not necessarily at home.

We actually just heard from, of course, Dr. Tom Tsai of Harvard, who called the entire United States one big hotspot. So if you think about what that means for average Americans, they could technically plop down anywhere and work from there, right, if you are a white collar worker. So Airbnb did find that longer term stays, which are at least 28 days, have increased tremendously during this time, and about 60% of people who are taking longer term stays are choosing to work from that location. So it's not seen as a vacation by any means.

I actually want to cite our own Jess Smith, our Washington DC correspondent, who is live from California these days. She did take a road trip, ended up giving up her lease in DC at the end of September and is traversing through the United States-- currently in California, will be in Colorado, will be in Utah. And I do anticipate that as we see this filing come from Airbnb, which is expected next week, this will be a huge push for the company, Seana.

I do think that prior to the pandemic, we did see a lot of buzz around the so-called business traveler choosing an Airbnb over hotel. But I anticipate that this will be the narrative that executives will use going forward, saying that, just like athleisure is a hybrid phenomenon, we will see workleisure actually coming to fruition. So why not, sort of, get a cabin in the woods, get a place with a patio, and leave those urban environments. I know, Adam, you're staying put on the bright side. But it's time to come to California right now.