A technology firm for employees to work remotely permanently

On April 28, Airbnb informed employees that they were allowed to work remotely permanently and could move anywhere they wanted. This doesn’t affect their compensation, which means that Airbnb doesn’t take a pay cut if employees move to a city with a lower standard of living.

In a lengthy email to employees, Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky outlined the company’s new policy and expectations. The ability to work flexible forever, he notes, will help Airbnb “recruit and retain the best people in the world,” rather than just people in the community surrounding the office. Airbnb currently has 6,000 employees with more than 3,000 in the US.

Chesky advises staff to discuss with directors before relocating and will not support those who intend to move abroad this year. A small number are required to work at a specific office or location to be able to complete the main work.

Airbnb’s new policy isn’t too surprising as the company has been promoting a remote work environment in recent months. This trend comes from the beginning of the epidemic. In December 2020, Airbnb issued shares to the public. A year later, the company says its 2021 revenue is up 25% from 2019.

In January, Chesky shared that he “lives on Airbnb,” staying at homes posted on his platform so he can move from city to city every few weeks. He thinks that the biggest moving trend in 2022 will be people spreading out into thousands of different towns and cities, staying for a few weeks, months or even a season.

“There will be more people living abroad, more tourists all summer, some giving up renting and becoming digital nomads.” He calls this a “decentralized lifestyle”.

Now, Chesky has freed employees to do just that. He encourages people who want to enjoy long stays in other countries to do the same.

“As of September, you can live and work in more than 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location. People still need a fixed address to pay taxes and receive salaries, but we’re excited to offer this level of flexibility. Most companies won’t do that because of a mountain of complexity regarding taxes, salaries and time zones, but I hope we can come up with an open source solution for other businesses to follow.”

The employee will be solely responsible for applying for a work visa. They will also meet more in person next year, about a week each quarter. Chesky asserts that “flexibility only works when you trust the people on the team. You guys have shown how much work can be done remotely. Over the past 2 years, we’ve weathered the pandemic, rebuilt the company from scratch, gone public, upgraded our entire services, and recorded phenomenal revenue, all while working from scratch. far”.