EDITOR'S COMMENT
• The unprecedented step made by Airbnb to shutter its Chinese domestic tourism business [and 150,000 listings in the country] in July does not simply boil down to "pandemic challenges" as co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk puts it, but also to concerns over the existential threats it faces in China and sharing data with its government.
Granted, domestic and outbound tourism has suffered hugely due to China's much-discussed "zero-Covid" policy and the strict implementation of lockdowns, just as much of the world is beginning to open up once again and travel restrictions ease.
However, the move to now focus solely on outbound tourism will feel like a significant loss of face for Airbnb and Blecharczyk, who himself relocated to Beijing in 2017 to head up the company's team in China and incurred considerable expenses in efforts to recruit hosts, despite the lack of penetration in the market and struggles to achieve profitability.
The relatively subdued reaction in China is telling - Airbnb's market share pales in comparison with domestic leaders such as Tujia, while more platforms have been expanding their home-sharing activities in recent years, including Meituan, Ctrip and Xiaozhu.
That competition, coupled with the Chinese authorities' hostility towards Silicon Valley firms over their data-sharing transparency, may just have proved the final straw for Airbnb.
• Warm congratulations again to everyone who won an award at our recent Shortyz Awards in London! Whether you attended the event at the spectacular Skyline London or are keen to enter and / or sponsor the awards in 2023, relive all of the highs from this year's ceremony by checking out our highlights video here.
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