Airbnb Exits China Market
Airbnb has decided to shut down its business inside China indefinitely. The news comes as the country still has a strict zero-Covid policy, lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Airbnb informed its China-based users that it will no longer accept bookings for accommodation and experiences in the country starting July 30th. A quick search for stays in August in China shows just a handful of properties available and even those show an error if you try to book.
“We have made the difficult decision to refocus our efforts in China on outbound travel and suspend our homes and Experiences of Hosts in China, starting from July 30, 2022,” Airbnb said in a WeChat post on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
As a wave of Omicron cases has spread across China, the government has continues it zero-Covid policy. Major cities like Shanghai and Beijing have seen city-wide or localized lockdowns. There are also widespread travel restrictions between cities and provinces.
Despite in-country branding and putting Airbnb cofounder, Nathan Blecharczyk, at the head of efforts, stays in China have lagged and accounted for just 1% of revenue for the last few years, according to CNBC. Listings in China make up around 2.5% of the 6 million listings that Airbnb has wordwide.
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Just about any company who tries to do business in China will suffer a similar fate, as China is only interested in using you by taking your initial investment and intellectual property, then destroying your business.