US: B2C marketplace Anyplace has revealed the latest digital nomad trends being seen in the United States, as more and more companies extend their work-from-home policies, leading many young professionals to move out of urban centres such as New York City and San Francisco to rural areas.
Among the companies extending their remote working policies are Google and Airbnb.
The former has announced that its workers can work remotely until next summer if they wish, while Airbnb has opted to allow its workers to work remotely until the end of August 2021, even if its offices reopen before then as pandemic restrictions ease.ย On top of that, the company said it would provide aย $300 stipend for home office equipment, and an additional $200 to cover expenses on ergonomic equipment.
The likes of Twitter, Facebook and Shopify are now also allowing their employees to work remotely as demand for fixed office space nosedives.
On an international scale, European countries including Barbados, Estonia and Georgia have announced the creation of a digital nomad visa for people who move away, not just to a different city but also to a different country. Anyplace said it expected the nomadic lifestyle to become more common both during and post-Covid.
From a supply perspective, a growing number of short-term operators, including vacation rentals and hotels, are pivoting their business models towards long-term or extended stays as they expect demand to recover slowly, perhaps as long as one or two years to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Short-term rentals are particularly well suited to provide monthly housing rentals, while hospitality company Hyatt has drawn up a work-from-hotel plan to cater to the emerging trend.
According to Anyplace’s data, the average length of stay in total for US digital nomads on its platform is seven months, including those users who have extended their stays or change locations continuously. In addition, the average length of stay for the initial booking is 90 days, supporting companies’ decisions to pivot for longer stay models, and the booking windows for travellers have dropped to eight days on average before their move-in date as they make more spontaneous decisions on where to stay.
Anyplace said that the principal accommodation beneficiaries of these digital nomad trends were furnished apartments / short-term rentals, with 45 per cent of those surveyed opting to book private accommodation to work and stay in. Behind those asset classes, 35 per cent chose to stay in co-living developments and 20 per cent preferred to reserve a hotel stay.
Meanwhile,ย the top ten destinations where US domestic nomads have been recently looking for a place are:
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Denver [Colorado]
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Orange County [California]
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Philadelphia [Pennsylvania]
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Dallas [Texas]
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Orlando [Florida]
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Jacksonville [Florida]
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Honolulu [Hawaii]
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San Antonio [Texas]
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Minneapolis [Minnesota]
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Phoenix [Arizona]
