Airbnb to wipe clean China listings in July as it shuts domestic biz

Airbnb is reportedly closing its domestic business in China after six years of operation in the country to focus on outbound travel. This comes as its business in China sees severe impact due to lockdowns amid the pandemic. The South China Morning Post quoted Airbnb's co-founder and chief strategy officer Nathan Blecharczyk sharing that Airbnb China will "suspend support for domestic travel listings and experiences and related reservations" from 30 July. 

Multiple reports including CNBC said all listings in China, including homes and experiences, will be removed by this summer as the domestic business in China was costly and complex to operate.Although the company is closing its domestic business in China, which accounted for about 1% of revenue for the last few years, Airbnb reportedly believed that Chinese outbound travel offers a better opportunity for it, said CNBC. As a result, the company will switch its focus on offering listings for Chinese travellers who are traveling abroad. Moreover, Airbnb will maintain an office in Beijing with hundreds of employees.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Airbnb for more details on how the closure will impact its marketing teams in China and across the region. 

Amid the pandemic, Airbnb laid off about 1,900 out of its 7,500 employees, comprising approximately 25% of the company. This came as the company faced a hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the global travel industry to come to a standstill. According to co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky the headcount reduction process had to be done then to create a more focused business strategy built on a sustainable cost model. Elaborating on the focused business strategy, Chesky said Airbnb would cut its investment in activities that did not directly support the core of its host community. It would pause efforts in Transportation and Airbnb Studios and scale back investments in Hotels and Lux. Additionally, teams across all of Airbnb were impacted. Many teams would be reduced in size based on how well they mapped to where Airbnb was headed.

(Photo courtesy: 123rf)

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