Sources: Airbnb plans to remove all mainland China listings for homes and experiences by this summer, but will keep a Beijing office focusing on outbound travel

CNBC 2022-05-24 Deirdre Bosa

Context & Ripple Effects

Airbnb’s withdrawal from mainland supply reverses a multiyear effort to build a local operation, including its search for a dedicated China CEO with Sequoia and China Broadband Capital and its later agreement to share Chinese host information with the government. Keeping a Beijing team for outbound travel preserves a narrower role serving Chinese travelers booking elsewhere.

The move separates Airbnb’s China strategy from the domestic-travel recovery it reported in other markets in 2020, when U.S. bookings exceeded the comparable 2019 period. China is no longer a market where Airbnb will operate both sides of the marketplace.

First-order effects

Mainland China hosts and experience providers will lose Airbnb as a distribution channel, while travelers seeking stays within mainland China will no longer find that inventory on the platform.
Airbnb’s Beijing office shifts its immediate focus to outbound bookings, retaining support for Chinese customers traveling outside mainland China rather than local supply operations.

Second-order effects

Chinese home-rental platforms, including the local rivals Airbnb previously explored engaging with, face less direct competition for mainland hosts and guests.
Airbnb’s international hosts and destinations become the remaining addressable supply for its China-based team, concentrating that office’s commercial role on cross-border travel.

Third-order effects

If other global travel platforms adopt similarly narrow China footprints, the market may further divide between locally operated domestic marketplaces and cross-border booking channels managed from Beijing offices.

The trend: Global consumer platforms are increasingly separating mainland China operations from outbound-facing services when maintaining a full local marketplace becomes less viable.

Discussion

@geoffrey_cain Geoffrey Cain on x
Here's what happens when a company says “We need access to China for our bottom lines.” In the end you'll have neither access or achieved your bottom lines. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@dee_bosa Deirdre Bosa on x
$abnb will refocus efforts efforts in China on outbound travel opportunity China stays have accounted for approx 1% of revenue over the last few years... am told that overlap between Airbnb's outbound and domestic businesses was not strong https://cnbc.com/...
@arjunkharpal Arjun Kharpal on x
Having used Airbnb in China it was quite clear they couldn't compete with domestic players on price and availability. Also the brand was not in the mindshare of Chinese consumers, often more expensive. Great scoop by @dee_bosa https://www.cnbc.com/...
@mattrosoff Matt Rosoff on x
The Chinese business was important enough that Airbnb put one of the cofounders in charge of it. But it was always complicated to manage, and ongoing covid restrictions and lockdowns made it worse. So Airbnb's getting out, sources tell @dee_bosa. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@dee_bosa Deirdre Bosa on x
🚨BREAKING: Airbnb to shut China business: sources All listings in mainland China will be taken off platform this summer. Co will maintain an office in Beijing Sources tell me China biz was costly & complex to operate...pandemic worsened issues & heightened impact 1/x

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