Airbnb Data Offers Glimpse Of Mainland Rebound

While the coronavirus pandemic has frozen global travel and hit the travel industry hard, data from home-sharing startup Airbnb Inc shows the number of domestic bookings on the mainland for the first half of April were up more than 200% compared with the same period in March.

Data from AirDNA, a separate analytics firm, showed the number of bookings for the week of April 13 in 10 big Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, were up nearly 80% from the week of March 16, which AirDNA Chief Executive Scott Shatford said was the bottom for that market.

Still that's about half the bookings seen the week of January 6. Shatford said his firm’s data includes bookings from international travellers staying on the mainland.

AirDNA data also show the daily average rate on the mainland from May onward is similar to what it was last year. Shatford said Airbnb owners do not offer big discounts online to lure travellers the way hotels might.

The mainland is an important market for Airbnb, and the country’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak is being closely watched as an indication on how other countries now reeling from the virus and related shutdowns may fare.

Airbnb earlier this month secured US$2 billion in credit in two different deals. One included warrants that can be exercised at a price that would equate with an US$18 billion valuation – well below the US$31 billion valuation seen in Airbnb's 2017 Series F fundraising round. (Reuters)