If I am booking for a work trip and I don't plan on staying there myself but am not sure at the booking phase who is going then how do I avoid any penalties? I can't add anyone's email address at that point as it may not have been confirmed who will travel and then it appears that I am making multiple bookings for myself which I'm not. Can I change later the fact that the booking is not for me but someone else?
If you are an employer booking for employees, you would need to create an Airbnb for Work Account and use that to book for your employees. Airbnb doesn't allow 3rd party bookings (you book the stay for others, but don't plan on being present yourself).
Since you mentioned this is a work trip, Joan shared some great advice on how to create an Airbnb for Work account. Have you seen her answer already? Let us know if you need any more help. 😃
