Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that Airbnb will officially close its domestic business in China. Nearly 150,000 listings and experienced businesses in China will be taken offline completely. Only the outbound international business will be retained. This is expected to be completed this summer. Airbnb’s future presence in China will be composed mainly of engineers involved in the research and development of global products and technology projects, as well as the business and customer service teams responsible for Airbnb’s Chinese users’ outbound international travel. The total staffing level will be around several hundred people. In recent years, China’s domestic listings and experience service business has accounted for less than one percent of Airbnb’s global revenue. Airbnb set up a small-scale team in China in 2014. It officially launched its business in the Chinese market in 2015. The Covid pandemic did disruptive damage to the entire travel industry, including online short-term rentals. Airbnb is essentially the last large-scale U.S. Internet business that will have left China.
Source: Sina, May 24, 2022
http://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/csj/2022-05-24/doc-imizirau4437577.shtml