Employee Satisfaction
Digital nomads find the perfect solution to work and live remotely while traveling the globe
Long-term stays booked on Airbnb provide all the flexibility, comforts, and amenities needed by digital nomads working for one tech company
The Challenge
Being a full-time digital nomad—a tech-enabled, remote worker without a fixed place to live—can be an exciting and adventurous life. You’re immersed in different cultures, form bonds with lots of people, and learn new things, all while doing your job. Boredom and monotony are kept at bay, and the hassle of commuting to an office is all-but eliminated. But a digital nomad lifestyle has some big challenges too, especially when it comes to finding perfectly located, month-long stays with all the necessary amenities.
We need spaces that are open and airy and have a lot of light. We want it to inspire productivity and creativity, but also be in the center of the action in a city. We also want a separate bedroom and a kitchen we can really cook in. We only live in places booked on Airbnb.
—Ryan Caven, account manager for Chili Piper and full-time digital nomad
The Solution
Several employees at Chili Piper have discovered that Airbnb makes the digital nomad lifestyle possible. Inspired to travel the world during a trip to Africa when he was 10, account manager Ryan Caven, now 29, became a full-time digital nomad with his girlfriend in July 2019, traveling around South America, Spain, and Portugal. Using Airbnb’s maps, amenity filters, and the wishlist feature, they’re always able to find month-long stays in apartments with lightning fast WiFi—a big requirement—right where they want to be. Customer success manager Liz Pouya decided to become a digital nomad following a company offsite of Chili Piper employees at an Airbnb home in Ibiza, Spain in 2019. She and fellow employee Elyssa Stewart now travel together and say Airbnb lets them find great two-bedroom apartments with strong wifi, including month-long stays around South America and Europe.
“If you are looking for a long-term stay, Airbnb will calculate the monthly cost. No one else does that. It’s easy to find places within our budget, especially with monthly discounts,” says Liz.
The Results
All three employees say they’re happier at work and push themselves to go above and beyond in their roles by getting to experience other cultures, while working for a company that supports their nomadic lifestyle. “I don’t see this role as work,” Elyssa says, “I see it as a part of the life that I have chosen.”
With Airbnb they stay in the middle of the action in their chosen cities, employees say, but they also book leisure stays in nearby locations, including a weekend trip to the middle of the Guatemalan jungle where Ryan recalls staying in a little house beneath a volcano next to lake Atitlan. It’s all very affordable, he and others say, especially with discounts for month-long stays.
Chili Piper co-founder and CXO, Alina Vandenberghe, says “the decision to build Chili Piper as a remote team was a no brainer.” The company is not limited by regional boundaries, both in recruiting top talent, and in doing their best work. “It gives our employees the freedom to work at the time when they feel most productive with the most inspiring surroundings,” she says.
To learn more about extended and long term stays for your organization contact the Airbnb for Work team.
