Will Airbnb Survive In Asia? | Interesting Asia

For interesting content about Asia, please visit: https://interestingasia.com/

Ask us a question: https://interestingasia.com/about/con...

Uber is long gone. A long-rumored Zillow expansion into the region has never materialized. And WeWork was never able to dominate the market due mainly to competition from savvy local and regional co-working players. Meanwhile, Airbnb continues to chug along in Asia, operating in a gray area that doesn’t seem feasible in the long term.

It has not been smooth sailing for Airbnb in Asia over the years, to say the least. The short-term rental player rapidly scaled up operations across the region from 2016 to 2018 as it looked to replicate the success achieved in America and Europe.

However, it found confusing regulations that varied significantly from country to country. Then there were the local populations who seemed okay with using the platform but not so enthralled with the idea of randos staying in the residential developments they call home.

During those early years, Airbnb delicately danced between lobbying governments to avoid outright bans, growing the number of hosts in an uncertain environment and not pissing off locals. Sometimes it worked. In other cases, it did not.

Read the full article: https://interestingasia.com/2023/11/i...