Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a new world of travel has emerged. Millions of people are now more flexible about where they live and work. In response to this trend of newfound flexibility, Airbnb today announced our approach to allow employees to live and work anywhere, and how we will partner with destinations to help them attract remote workers.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky sent the following email to employees around the globe this afternoon.

Team,

Two years ago, the world was turned upside down. Our offices closed and we found ourselves working from our bedrooms, basements, and home offices. Despite everything, we had the most productive two-year period in our history. While it’s been an incredible two years for Airbnb, I know it’s been hard on many of you. 

Today, we’re turning the page to the start of a new chapter. I’m excited to share our design for where and how we’ll work together going forward. 

We started this process by asking a simple question—where is the world going? 

The answer is obvious—the world is becoming more flexible about where people can work. We see this in our own business. We wouldn’t have recovered so quickly from the pandemic had it not been for millions of people working from Airbnbs. During the second half of 2021, 20% of our nights booked were for stays of longer than a month, and half were for stays of longer than a week.

Two decades ago, Silicon Valley startups popularized the idea of open floor plans and on-site perks, which were soon adopted by companies all around the world. Similarly, today’s startups have embraced remote work and flexibility, and I think this will become the predominant way that we all work 10 years from now. This is where the world is going. 

We then asked, what are we solving for? 

We want to hire and retain the best people in the world (like you). If we limited our talent pool to a commuting radius around our offices, we would be at a significant disadvantage. The best people live everywhere, not concentrated in one area. And by recruiting from a diverse set of communities, we will become a more diverse company. 

Now, I understand the anxiety of not seeing people in an office—how do you know if your employees are doing their jobs when you can’t see them? For me, it’s simple: I trust you, and flexibility only works when you trust the people on your team. You’ve shown how much you can accom