Sharing is caring… or is it?

Travel agents take note. The Sharing Economy has hit travel and it’s here with a vengeance; so much so that Airbnb is being touted as the largest hotel chain in the world (without any of their own rooms) and Uber, the largest car rental company (without any of their own cars of course).

Business travel is getting their full attention, with this week’s announcement that Airbnb is launching a full product suite aimed at making Airbnb “easier” to use for companies.

From this week, companies around the world can now sign in to Airbnb and have access to a range of features to support business trips. Says a press release on the site: “The suite of tools provides visibility into employee travel itineraries booked through Airbnb, financial reporting data, and central billing to improve the business travel experience for travellers and travel managers.”

Airbnb further wants to reinvent the notion of business travel with the global expansion of a programme that would sleep colleagues in a private home under one roof, instead of a hotel room.

Since launching last summer, more than 250 companies have joined the company’s Business Travel programme, including Google and SoundCloud.

What do you think about the impact this will have on the travel industry as we know it?