Airbnb, to exit China’s market!

Airbnb Inc. plans to close its business in China amid continuous lockdowns, competition among main reasons,

Shanghai daily reports.

Airbnb are set to shut its domestic operations in China, but will continue to serve Chinese travelers booking overseas properties.

Airbnb bookings in China account to roughly 1% of Airbnb’s overall revenue, with more than 500,000 active properties through April, according to market-research firm AirDNA,

*Shanghai daily tweet on Airbnb

#Airbnb will suspend bookings on the Chinese mainland beginning in July, because the segment is complicated and expensive to manage due to COVID-19 pandemic challenges, the company said on Tuesday. https://t.co/TzM1rXzMNc pic.twitter.com/u0M7n5uj1h

— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) May 24, 2022

China markets is dominated by local app Meituan,

Meituan,  delivers food and offers other services including travel, and can acquire new customers without spending as much as Airbnb. This makes them tough to compete with, said the people familiar with Airbnb’s decision.

Harsh C-19 lockdowns piled on Airbnb’s problems.

It was becoming costlier to operate a travel business in China,  and the company decided it wasn’t worth the payout. CNBC earlier reported Airbnb’s plans to exit China.

Outbound travel from China has long been the bigger opportunity for Airbnb, according to the people familiar with its decision,WSJ reports  that the company will continue to let Chinese travelers book properties overseas. Airbnb plans to announce its departure soon, source said.

U.S. tech companies have long coveted access to the Chinese market, but many have pulled out in part because of government  programs and the risk that customer data sensitivity.

A spokesman for Airbnb said at the time that the company complies with all applicable laws and requirements when responding to requests for data, similar to Western hotel chains operating in China

Shares in Airbnb are down more than 30% this year, but

Last quarter data showed  company’s revenue jumped 70% as people continued to book suburban rentals despite hosts raising prices.

@thejouralbiz

source:Shanghai daily/WSJ

Image:Airbnb inc.