Airbnb and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) today (August 29) announced the signing of a MoU to collaborate on MDEC’s inaugural DE Rantau initiative.
The strategic partnership comes as the rise of remote work and flexible travel continues to accelerate post-pandemic.
According to a forthcoming Oxford Economics study commissioned by Airbnb, long-term stays (28 nights or more) on Airbnb across the Asia Pacific region increased from 7.7% of total guest nights in 2019 to 11.6% in 2023.
In Malaysia, long-term stay nights grew from 11.6% to 18.6% of total guest nights booked by international guests from 2019 to 2022. The top 3 destinations for long-term stays in 2022 were Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor Bahru.
Through the partnership, Airbnb and MDEC will work together to identify and promote approximately over 600 digital nomad-friendly DE Rantau Hub listings on Airbnb, with more to be certified by MDEC in the coming months.
These MDEC-certified listings, located in key tourism hotspots such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Penang, and Langkawi will provide travelers with digital nomad-friendly amenities.
These include dedicated workspaces, WiFi, kitchen and laundry facilities that are ideal for long stays of a month and more.
To encourage more digital nomad travelers to visit Malaysia, Airbnb has launched a landing page airbnb.com/liveandworkinmalaysia featuring all MDEC-certified, remote work-friendly DE Rantau Hub listings.
The page aims to drive awareness of Malaysia as a digital nomad-friendly destination and the benefits of MDEC’s DE Rantau Pass.
Airbnb has also launched a global Guide for Hosts on how they can make their space more friendly for long-term stay guests, and will run workshops for Malaysian Hosts to share more about DE Rantau and latest digital nomad travel trends.
