Post by High Priestess on May 11, 2016 13:51:49 GMT
Read about a new Chinese competitor to AIrbnb:
www.forbes.com/sites/shuchingjeanchen/2016/05/09/chinas-home-sharing-site-surpasses-airbnb/#2a3966a37ff6
A number of Chinese start-ups have attempted, and failed, to duplicate the business model of online lodging marketplace Airbnb. One company has set itself apart from the crowd, however, by pioneering a new marketing strategy with uniquely Chinese characteristics.
The winner is Tujia.com, China’s largest vacation rental website, which was founded in 2011. In less than five years it has grown from an unknown to a unicorn – one of an elite group of tech start-ups whose market valuation surpasses the $1 billion mark.
Melissa Yang, cofounder and chief technology officer of Tujia.com, said her company is based on a model quite different from Airbnb’s. That is because of the stark contrast in cultural and consumption behaviors between travelers in China and the United States. Chinese tourists don’t trust industry intermediaries, she said. Also, they often travel in large groups. And they tend to demand Chinese food wherever they go.
That’s why her company, Tujia, took to managing all the properties listed on its website in order to guarantee service quality, becoming something akin to a serviced apartment provider – and a smart one at that.
“We managed all the properties ourselves from the beginning,” she said, speaking on the sidelines of the “Most Powerful Women International Summit” hosted by Fortune magazine in Hong Kong.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this company does property management for all the properties themselves, I don't think one can exactly say that they are a competitor to Airbnb -- this is a very different model. I can't think of any other home sharing or vacation rental site that takes away the management of the property from the owner....one could call this "vacation rentals" I suppose, but "home sharing" it is not...
www.forbes.com/sites/shuchingjeanchen/2016/05/09/chinas-home-sharing-site-surpasses-airbnb/#2a3966a37ff6
A number of Chinese start-ups have attempted, and failed, to duplicate the business model of online lodging marketplace Airbnb. One company has set itself apart from the crowd, however, by pioneering a new marketing strategy with uniquely Chinese characteristics.
The winner is Tujia.com, China’s largest vacation rental website, which was founded in 2011. In less than five years it has grown from an unknown to a unicorn – one of an elite group of tech start-ups whose market valuation surpasses the $1 billion mark.
Melissa Yang, cofounder and chief technology officer of Tujia.com, said her company is based on a model quite different from Airbnb’s. That is because of the stark contrast in cultural and consumption behaviors between travelers in China and the United States. Chinese tourists don’t trust industry intermediaries, she said. Also, they often travel in large groups. And they tend to demand Chinese food wherever they go.
That’s why her company, Tujia, took to managing all the properties listed on its website in order to guarantee service quality, becoming something akin to a serviced apartment provider – and a smart one at that.
“We managed all the properties ourselves from the beginning,” she said, speaking on the sidelines of the “Most Powerful Women International Summit” hosted by Fortune magazine in Hong Kong.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this company does property management for all the properties themselves, I don't think one can exactly say that they are a competitor to Airbnb -- this is a very different model. I can't think of any other home sharing or vacation rental site that takes away the management of the property from the owner....one could call this "vacation rentals" I suppose, but "home sharing" it is not...