Agoda Homes branching out into extended stays

Worldwide: Online travel agency and metasearch engine, Agoda, is branching out into longer-term stays to capitalise on a growing vacation rental trend and the global situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agoda Homes has introduced the extended stay feature, enabling consumers to search dates for stays ranging between 30 and 90 days, coinciding with governmental advice for travellers to socially distance themselves from groups of people.

The company says it is continuously seeking to improve its platform offerings to suit the ever-evolving needs of the modern-day traveller.

More people on the lookout for flexible, long-term accommodation for bleisure or business travel purposes, as well as for relocation, and the introduction of such a feature would also allow accommodation partners to benefit from this developing trend. Given the global uncertainty over the longevity of the coronavirus outbreak, Agoda Homes believes an offering of extended stays from now on will mitigate against the effects of seasonality in the non-peak travel seasons and maximise occupancy in the homes on its platform.

David Salamon, director of product for Agoda Homes, told Travel Daily Media: “We have seen an increased number of travellers stitching their trips together and booking the same property multiple times over an extended period. We will continuously test and improve and look forward as the new feature rolls out to the other types of properties on our platform. We will be rolling it out soon on our mobile app.”

Airbnb has made its own strides into the extended stay space in recent years with the launch of its Airbnb for Work category, which aims to connect homes and boutique hotels around the world and facilitate travel and collaboration with co-workers. As workers increasingly strive for flexible working lifestyles to fit around their jobs, the company notably partnered with World Orbit Travel in New Zealand last July in order to make it easier for Kiwis to travel for work without sacrificing the comforts of home.

For more information, visit the Agoda Homes website here.