Beyond the Bed: Digital Nomad Housing Habits

We surveyed +600 digital nomads and remote workers to discover the factors that drive them when choosing housing for their nomad stays & workations.

Specifically, we investigated top booking platforms, decision influencers, and amenities crucial for them when deciding about a particular accommodation.

So, without further ado, let's see the results.

Key Takeaways

• Up to 70% of all digital nomads typically stay at one accommodation for no longer than 2 weeks…
• … but in the case of full-time digital nomads, 58% of them choose to stay for more than a month
• 62% of digital nomads prefer renting an independent flat or a room in the apartment rather than hotels and hostels
• Booking.com is the most popular platform, becoming the first choice for 3 out of 4 digital nomads
• Price, location, and reviews are the top 3 decision influencers
• High-speed internet is a must for nearly 90% of digital nomads. 7 out of 10 claims that lack of high-speed wifi disqualifies the particular accommodation
• For 56% of remote workers staying in one place for more than 2 weeks, having a desk, ergonomic chair, and appropriate lighting is very important.

Most Digital Nomads Stay at One Place for up to Two Weeks

Our first question was to discover the typical length of stay for digital nomads.

As you can see, 73.2% of digital nomads usually decide to stay in one place for 14 days at maximum. Only ≈ 9% of remote workers seek housing for a month or more.

But -

The proportion changes when we consider only full-time digital nomads, so the people who spend more time abroad than in their home countries.

Full-time Nomads are Different Pair of Shoes

For 11,93% of surveyed people, digital nomadism is a way of life.

Most (54,3%) of full-time nomads prefer at least monthly stays, and 28,4% usually look for 2 - 4 weeks rentals. Only 17,3% of full-time digital nomads jump from place to place for less than 14 days.

No wonder - travelling all the way round could become bothersome for your daily habits and risk overstimulation. Staying longer in one place makes you know it better and reduces travel fatigue.

Digital Nomads Prefer Peace & Quiet

Digital nomads are not tourists. Well, okay, they are to some extent, but they have to share their time for leisure and work.

The result of our research is clear - digital nomads need to have comfortable, home-type accommodation. 62% of surveyed nomads most often decide to rent a flat or a room in a small apartment. It’s definitely much more work-friendly than cool but often tumultuous hostels that are a choice for only 9.7% of remote workers.

Besides, living in a flat allows you to be more self-sufficient. For example, regarding food savings - you can cook by yourself.

What’s interesting is that the results are almost the same in the case of digital nomads looking for short (up to 7 days) stays, as well as medium (1 - 2 weeks) and extended stays (+2 weeks).

Takeaway?

The longer the stay, the stronger the need for independence.

Booking.com and Airbnb are Top Websites for Digital Nomad Housing

We were curious about the booking habits of digital nomads. Therefore, we asked a question: “Where do you most often book your accommodation?”.

The results are the following:

What does it tell us?

That digital nomads trust big brands. Booking.com and Airbnb are undisputedly the first platforms they browse when looking for housing on their workation stays.

So, if you’re an accommodation owner offering stays to remote workers, you must maintain an excellent online presence on these platforms to make your place searchable and attractive.

But how exactly could you do it? Let's check our other findings…

Price, Location, and Reviews are Top 3 Decision Influencers

Most digital nomads don't need to tighten their belts. In fact, the average income among digital nomads is $120,512 per year. But it doesn't mean they do not count money!

The price is undisputedly the number 1 factor they consider when choosing accommodation. As much as 91,1% of respondents included it in their top 3 decision influencers.

The second (75.6%) most important factor is location. All in all, who wants to spend extra minutes to reach the most exciting places? So, if you want to set up your accommodation for digital nomads, be sure that it's not in the middle of nowhere (unless the remote location is a value itself).

Besides, you should never underestimate the power of reviews! It's not only one of the top decision influencers for most digital nomads. According to TripAdvisor, as much as 82% of travelers perceive online reviews as extremely or very important when making travel decisions. The same report states that the crucial attributes for review are the content, rating, and how recent they are

Top three decision influencers

Our study supports this claim, as reviews & ratings are top decision influencers for almost 6 out of 10 digital nomads.

So, remember to encourage your guests to write some nice things about your place.

But -

How could you convince them to praise your reviews? Definitely by providing digital nomads the amenities they desire!

High-speed Internet is a Must - Accept It

A reliable internet connection seems a no-brainer. But still, it’s the most serious challenge for over half of digital nomads.

That’s surprising when you set it next to our finding - as much as 92,2% of digital nomads pointed it out as an absolute must. For 82% of remote workers, the weak internet signal is a red flag disqualifying the particular accommodation.

How important is reliable and fast internet in your housing choice?

In other words - if you provide a good internet, you gain.

Reliable WiFi is followed by kitchen or kitchenette facilities. 2 out of 3 digital nomads consider them crucial and it’s absolutely understandable. All in all, eating out all the time is a significant burden for the budget.

Wanna Attract Digital Nomads? Create a Dedicated Workspace

Nearly half (48.9%) of digital nomads pay particular attention to accommodation amenities. And that’s not surprising at all. Nomads are far beyond vacationers, who just need some basics. They expect more from a place they’re going to work and live for a while.

So, if you want to keep up nomads for longer - create a dedicated workspace!

It’s particularly crucial for these remote workers looking to stay in one place for more than two weeks. According to our research, the presence of a desk, ergonomic chair, and appropriate lighting is a must for 62% of them

Stacking It All Up

There you have it. A comprehensive, data-based study on digital nomads housing habits.

If you believe our findings will be interesting to your audience, feel free to use them. And please, remember to credit us as a source by linking back to this page.

Methodology

We conducted an online survey of 612 digital nomads and remote workers from the US and Europe via a bespoke online polling tool in October 2023.

The respondents were 48.5% male and 51.5% female. 42.3% of respondents were 26 or younger, 48.6% were aged 27–42, 6.9% were aged 43–58, and 2.2% were 59 or older.

This survey has a confidence level of 89% and a margin of error of 6%. Given the gender and age makeup of our sample size, the study’s findings are statistically significant for the population at large.

This study was created through multiple research steps, crowdsourcing, and surveying. Data scientists reviewed all survey participants’ responses for quality control. The survey also had an attention-check question.