Airbnb is closing its accommodation listings and services in China, CNBC reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The US home rental giant is instead choosing to focus on outbound Chinese tourism after operating in the country for six years, according to the report. China’s tourism services, including home rental platforms like Airbnb and travel booking sites such as Trip, are reeling from the impact of the country’s stringent Covid prevention measures and multiple lockdowns. Fierce competition from local rivals such as Tujia and Xiaozhu are also contributing factors in Airbnb’s retreat from China. The company’s withdrawal marks another significant retreat of a US tech giant from China, following in the footsteps of Linkedin, Amazon, and Google. [CNBC]
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Airbnb sends hosts to rival platforms ahead of China retreat
Airbnb will facilitate the migration of Chinese hosts to several rival platforms before its withdrawal from the Chinese market, according to a statement the company released on Friday. Airbnb hosts in China are being given the opportunity to transfer their data such as housing information and review history to platforms including Meituan Homestay, Xiaozhu/Fliggy, and […]
CHINA VOICES | The messy story of Airbnb China
Airbnb sailed off course before landing its beachhead in China.
Amazon to halt Kindle service in China in one year
Amazon said on Thursday that it will shut down its Kindle e-bookstore services in China by June 2023, citing an adjustment of strategic focus as the reason for the move. Kindle users will be able to download any purchased books before the service makes a full withdrawal next year, according to a company statement. Amazon […]
Briefing: Airbnb rival Xiaozhu to test facial recognition-enabled smart lock
China’s home rental market is expected to be worth RMB 50 billion ($7.2 billion) by 2020.
Airbnb’s latest challenge is coming from Taiwan
Lawmakers in Taiwan started looking into ways to legalize short-term rental services for some time now–but this is hardly good news for Airbnb, who is in the crosshairs of government scrutiny.
Airbnb China notifies hosts they may begin sharing their information with the government
Airbnb hosts with a listing in China were notified by Airbnb China by email that their information could be shared with Chinese government agencies without further notice starting from 30 March 2018. Airbnb China explained that this was necessary for complying with local laws and regulations. A big “deactivate my China listing” button was included […]
Inappropriate relationship with an employee may be the reason behind Airbnb China head’s resignation
The assumed reasons for the resignation of Airbnb’s China head, Ge Hong, may not be why he actually left, as suggestions that staff impropriety may be the reason. Chinese sources and The Information are reporting that the reason was in fact that Ge was pushed out for having a relationship with a female employee. Earlier […]
China’s Airbnb equivalent Xiaozhu raises $120m in funding
Chinese peer-to-peer home rental platform Xiaozhu announced Wednesday that it has received $120m in the latest financing round. The firm said vaguely in the statement that the current round has bumped the startup to unicorn status, which means the valuation of this round would be around $1 billion or higher. Yunfeng Capital, the VC firm backed […]
Briefing: Zhejiang province to require user data from home-sharing platforms
The policy is the first of its kind in China.
