Airbnb is “not just a travel company anymore”, boss Brian Chesky has said, as he unveiled a string of changes aimed at capitalising on new travel habits amid the shift to home working.

The chief executive said the pandemic had sparked the “most profound change in travel since the airplane” as people became “less tethered and more flexible”.

Read more: Checking out: Airbnb shares dive as insiders are allowed to sell following last year’s IPO

“People can travel anytime, they are travelling to more places and they are staying longer,” he said.

“The lines between travel, living and working are blurring and we are upgrading our service to make it easier for people to integrate travel into their lives, and for more people to become hosts.” 

The comments came as Airbnb unveiled more than 100 changes and updates to its platform in a bid to adapt to new lifestyles after the pandemic.

The holiday booking firm saw its revenue drop by almost a third last year as repeated lockdowns and travel restrictions hammered its business.

But the rollout of vaccinations drove up bookings in the first quarter, and the platform is now pinning its hopes on a sharp rebound this summer.

The new updates include new flexible dates and flexible destination booking options, clearer cancellation policies and a simplified sign-up process for hosts.

The changes are aimed at making it easier for people to book trips in the era of remote working.

“At this point, 24 per cent of our business is really living—we’re not just a travel company anymore,” Chesky said.

“You used to have to be wealthy to live somewhere else for the summer, but people can defer the costs now by renting [their primary home] on Airbnb when they’re gone — it could even become a cash-neutral possibility now.”

Read more: Vaccinations drive Airbnb bookings up 52 per cent

The Airbnb boss also argued that businesses would increasingly shift to more flexible working models as a generation of “young, digitally native managers” comes through.

But he also predicted an era of “business travel 2.0”, where fully remote companies would return to central offices for key events.