Shared bicycles failed to recover，Didi fell into the whirlpool of public opinion condemned by the whole people for free rides，The sharing economy has gone from the peak to the trough，The short-term rental industry, regarded as another important representative of the sharing economy, is also experiencing an undercurrent。

A wave of boycotts of city B&Bs in Sichuan and Chongqing areas，Started appearing in July this year，Last for more than a month，There are still repercussions to this day。

In the local leaders’ message board of People’s Daily Online，Some netizens in Chengdu mentioned that they were detained for renting out their houses to short-term rental management houses，To this，Response from relevant departments，This netizen’s room is not within the definition of B&B，The act of operating (hotel) without permission needs to be investigated and punished。In fact，At present, there is no truly clear regulation on short-term rental of homestays in China，The management of short-term homestay rentals is still based on the relevant regulations of the hotel industry。 

This is a case of urban B&Bs experiencing embarrassing development in recent times，There is a big wave of boycotts against city B&Bs in Sichuan and Chongqing areas，But the same situation also occurs in other places in the country。 

Compared with when it just sprouted，China’s short-term rental industry is now quite large，At the same time，The development environment it faces is also more complex。

Six years ago，Xiaozhu short-term rental (now renamed Xiaozhu) is officially launched。It was just four years after Airbnb was established，When Airbnb is developing rapidly and gaining market recognition，The domestic homestay short-term rental business is still a desolate place。

It is not easy for Chinese users to accept sharing and renting out their houses，In the past six years，Little Pig、Tujia、Local players such as Ant Short-term Rental，And Airbnb, which officially entered China in 2015，Start the B&B short-term rental business from scratch，Developed。

2016，On the fourth anniversary of Xiaozhu，As a co-founder，Chen Chi recalled himself as a landlord in a commemorative article，Several tenants he received that impressed him。2016 is a special year in the eyes of B&B short-term rental practitioners，Whether it is Xiaozhu or Tujia，Everyone thinks that after four years of hard work，China’s homestay short-term rental business is on the eve of an explosion。

After two years，Although short-term rental platforms have still not achieved explosive growth like Didi，But the homestay short-term rental business has become an industry that cannot be ignored。Also in the past two years，Tujia、Xiaozhu has received continued support from capital，Online travel leader Ctrip and rising star Meituan-Dianping have also increased their 188bet app investment in this business。

Walking through the deserted 1.0 era、Finding the quantity 2.0 era，The homestay short-term rental industry is undergoing more dramatic changes3.0 era。

On the one hand，As the concept of homestay short-term rental is accepted by more and more people，Tenants’ requirements for experience have increased accordingly，As the competition for existing housing stock approaches saturation，Next，How to retain high-quality landlords will test the competitiveness of the platform。On the other hand，The B&B short-term rental industry is expanding，Necessary to assume more social responsibilities，In the current context of regulatory uncertainty，How to balance the rights and interests of parties involved in homestay short-term rental，It is a question before the platform。 

New variables pose new challenges for players in the homestay and short-term rental industry，Facing the ever-changing environment，Airbnb, the founder of the shared house model, is also adjusting its strategy - this company has always emphasized the attributes of the platform，Pay more and more attention to offline operations，And supported local housing management companies。

The changes are especially obvious this year，Quietly，The homestay short-term rental industry is ushering in a new round of competition。

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Compared with when the homestay short-term rental business just started，Short-term rental platforms are currently facing regulation、A more complex situation in terms of competition，To win the favor of the landlord，More effort required。

Airbnb is the most typical representative of changing strategies。

When we just announced our official entry into China in 2015，Airbnb places great emphasis on maintaining its corporate culture and platform experience。End of the year，Airbnb held a party in Fangcaodi, where its Beijing office was at that time，Invite loyal domestic users to have face-to-face communication with Airbnb’s US headquarters executives。A domestic user who participated in the Party communicated with Airbnb founder Brian Chesky on communication issues between hosts and guests。

Based on the user’s record on Zhihu，its representation，As far as Airbnb in China，Because of limited language ability，There are great difficulties in communicating with overseas landlords。Has Airbnb considered simplifying or standardizing the process of booking a room and getting keys?。

The answer given by Brian Chesky is: This is indeed a real problem，But we are not going to solve it。Communication between tenants and landlords，is an important part of the entire Airbnb experience，It is also the key to maintaining the community，We do not intend to replace it with standard processes。

But after nearly three years of exploration，Brian Chesky’s initial thoughts have changed。Early July this year，Airbnb’s investment of US$5 million in the domestic homestay hosting platform Chengsu is a landmark event。 

Based on public information，Chengsu’s model is to select properties with development potential，Provide soft decoration design for landlords、Platform operation、One-stop hosting services such as cleaning and maintenance。

Designing with individual landlords、Different operating properties，What the housing hosting platform represented by Chengsu does，Standardizes housing operations through standardized services。This is obviously different from Brian Chesky’s previous statement that he “does not intend to replace 188bet sports betting app download the communication experience between tenants and landlords through standard processes”，But for Airbnb, which is eager to further open the Chinese market，Change is imperative。 

When the short-term rental platform represented by Airbnb first appeared in front of people with the purpose of improving the utilization rate of vacant houses，Innovative business models and interesting experiences have quickly gained market recognition。But with the increasing scale of the short-term rental industry，More challenges are coming。

First half of this year，With the "Residential Lodging Business Law" previously approved by Japan to regulate the homestay industry, it will come into effect on June 15th，Airbnb’s operations in Japan have been greatly affected。Based on data provided by Japanese media，Airbnb has about 6 listings in Japan.20,000，Falled to 1 due to the impact of the New Deal.380,000，A decrease of nearly 80%。

Japan is not the first country and region to strictly control short-term rentals in homestays，Earlier，Airbnb is already in New York, USA、Paris, France has encountered regulatory pressure。

in the country，The B&B short-term rental business is still in a gray area legally，For this，Short-term rental companies have made efforts and attempts，To promote the legalization of short-term rentals in homestays。

Also in the first half of this year，National Information Center Sharing Economy Research Center and Airbnb、Xiaozhu Rental and other shared accommodation companies jointly initiated the establishment of a Shared Accommodation Professional Committee。Also announced the launch of the formulation of industry standards for shared accommodation，It is expected to be announced to the outside world at the end of 2018。Earlier，Tujia released the “B&B Grading Standards” white paper in Beijing on March 1st。 

However, the current efforts of the platforms have not yet led to the official implementation of relevant laws and regulations，Before this，Operating B&Bs still faces the risk of regulatory uncertainty。 

Recent，Regulatory authorities in some areas have increased their management of the homestay short-term rental business。Take Beijing as an example，"Deep Web" learned，B&B short-term rentals within the Second Ring Road are strictly controlled，Affected by this，Some landlords choose to remove their listings from the platform to avoid risks。

In addition to regulatory factors，The B&B short-term rental industry has developed over the past few years，Now it has gone from the stage of simply focusing on quantity，Entering the stage of fighting for quality。The number of properties can certainly reflect the strength of the platform，But how to get more high-quality properties，It will also affect the reputation and competitiveness of the platform。

For landlords，It is not easy to run a B&B，An online tutorial from Airbnb Host Academy shows，Only in the process of naming the property，Landlords need to spend a lot of effort to increase search exposure、Attract user attention。Communicating with tenants、Cleaning、Changing bedding and maintaining platform orders, etc.，The landlord still needs to put in more effort。How to deal with neighbors、Relationship between community property，This is a more difficult problem faced by short-term rental landlords。 

Compared to when it first 188bet app download appeared，Today’s short-term homestay rental has become a more complex business。In this situation，Extending offline，Remaking the mode becomes the choice of most players。

Offline operations have become standard

Changes in the market environment have put forward new requirements for homestay short-term rental players，Nowadays, major short-term rental platforms invest resources in the development of hosting business。

Offline housing operation，Airbnb’s Chinese apprentices may be ahead of their teachers。

Two years ago，Xiaozhu Short-term Rental announced that it has changed its name to "Xiaozhu"，Removing the word short-term rental means that the future business scope will no longer be limited to the field of short-term rental。

In an interview in 2016，Chen Chi shared the thinking behind the name change with "Shenzhen Net": Xiaozhu's future development route will be based on the short-term rental business，Divide two major development directions: horizontal and vertical。Horizontally, short-term rental is the starting point of the sharing economy，Extended to vehicle sharing、Food sharing and other fields；The vertical direction is around short-term rental business，Derived cleaning、Management and other peripheral services。over a period of time，Xiaozhu will value investment in vertical business，The short-term rental ecosystem。

Same year，Xiaozhu successively launches worry-free check-in、Butler Service、Landlord settlement statistics and other functions，In order to expand the market in China，Xiaozhu began to improve the credit system、House management and a series of tasks。

2017，Tujia, another important player in the domestic short-term rental field, has also launched a homestay agency operation business (referred to as RBA business)，Provided for landlords of vacant houses in the city and homestay business enthusiasts，Packaging online，Go to the business for sale，Customer Reception，One-stop fully managed service business such as house cleaning。

Entering 2018，Major B&B short-term rental platforms operate offline、The layout of the hosting business is further accelerated。 

April this year，Based on the results of vertical business exploration in the past two years，Xiaozhu announced the launch of a new business brand, Rent Commune，Provide landlords with one-stop homestay short-term rental management solutions，Covered Design、Soft decoration、Cleaning、Mall、IoT devices、Intelligent management and other aspects。

Two months after Xiaozhu launched the rent-collecting commune brand，Youjia B&B founded by former Ant Short-term Rental CEO Shen Zhiqiang announced that it has received funding from Ctrip、Tujia、58 Industry Fund tens of millions of dollars in strategic investment，And reached strategic cooperation with NetEase Yanxuan。

Youjia B&B is positioned as a “second landlord”，Provide high-quality housing for various platforms。It adopts "partnership operation、Fully hosted” model，By owner (bought or rented property、With funds) or B&B investors (without real estate，Have funds，Youjia rents specific properties on your behalf) to provide vacant properties，Youjia B&B is responsible for unified hosting，The income will be divided 73% by both parties。

Although there is a B&B that is not bound to a specific platform，But its team 188bet app download and the capital behind it are closely related to Ctrip。

Youjia B&B was founded by the original Ant short-term rental team，The founder and CEO Shen Zhiqiang was formerly the CEO of Ant Short-term Rental under 58，2016，Tujia co-founder and CEO Luo Jun announced via internal email，Tujia and Ant Short-Term Rental have reached a strategic merger agreement，Ant Short-Term Rental will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tujia，And 58 Group, the original controlling shareholder of Ant Short-Term Rental, also became the new shareholder of Tujia。2017，Led by Tujia’s major shareholder Ctrip，Tujia Department has carried out a series of integrations and transfers。Shen Zhiqiang then founded Youjia B&B。

A B&B announced financing less than half a month ago，Airbnb announced a US$5 million investment in Citystay on July 6，Subsequently，Peng Tao, an industry insider who participated in the Chengdu project, announced that he will join Airbnb as President of China，Compared with the previously appointed head of China who is good at technology and products，Peng Tao has more experience in the tourism industry。These actions show that Airbnb attaches great importance to offline operations in China。

And Airbnb’s entry，Compared with the previously appointed head of China who is good at technology and products、Host Domain。

Different from the initial stage when short-term rental B&Bs first emerged in China。In the early stages of industry development，Some platforms are in order to obtain landlords，Some soft furnishings will be provided、Photography Service。Compare to，Today’s offline housing operations、The scope of hosting business is more standardized、Fine、vertical，Basically covers the house design from the early stages、In the mid-term, cleaning services and item supply, as well as back-end platform operations, etc.。 

For B&B short-term rental players，Entering the upstream and downstream industries means building internal teams、Management，and process improvements、New exploration is needed in cost control。This is a new secret war。

The Second War Begins

In Xiaozhu、Tujia、Airbnb layouts property hosting and operation business at the same time，House hosting and operation have become a way for latecomers to leverage housing resources。

Meituan-Dianping’s subdivision business Hazelnut short-term rental was just officially launched in April last year，In order to compete with other players for high-quality housing，Launched hazelnut butler service in the second half of 2017，Provide standardization、Professional cleaning services，Let B&B hosts who don’t have time to clean their rooms easily manage their properties、Accepting guests，A reservation is only as low as 40 yuan。

In the early days of the butler service，Hazelnut’s method of providing free linens quickly won the attention of landlords，According to the strategy at that time，Hazelnut Butler can provide linens for free to the landlord，The premise is that the landlord needs to list his property on the Hazelnut short-term rental platform。A landlord who tried the service told "Deep Web"，The steps are quite simple，“Filled in simple information and Airbnb account number，It will be automatically pulled。”

This strategy has proven to be very practical，According to the information disclosed by Feng Weihe, the person in charge of Hazelnut 188bet online sports betting short-term rental, in an interview，Use Hazelnut Butler Service，The number of properties in Hazelnut experienced rapid growth in the second half of 2017。But for hazelnut short-term rental，Attracting properties to the online platform through housekeeping services is only the first step，There is still some distance before these properties can truly generate value。

According to the landlord who has experienced the hazelnut butler service, the "Deep Web" introduction，After listing the property on the Hazelnut short-term rental platform，The page displays many comments for no apparent reason，According to Hazelnut’s explanation of short-term rental，These comments are automatically crawled and associated through Airbnb’s open interface，But the landlord said，In fact，Many reviews never appear on their Airbnb page。As far as he knows，This phenomenon is not an isolated case，This is a common experience among landlords and friends who have launched the Hazelnut platform。

Due to the need to control costs，Hazelnut’s short-term rental strategy of providing free linens did not continue，This service will be charged normally this year。But the services each platform can provide to landlords，Obviously becoming an important factor affecting landlords’ choice of platform。

How to quickly、Efficient、Low cost、Provide high-quality corresponding services，Will test the operational capabilities of each platform。From the current strategy，Platforms also have different promotion methods。

Xiaozhu’s rent-collecting commune uses crowdsourcing solutions，That is, the landlord releases corresponding requirements，Cleaning and other service staff can grab orders to complete。Tujia’s B&B agency operation business adopts a more serious approach: setting up service stations in every city，The ground service team is built by senior managers in the hotel industry，Conduct unified interviews for candidates、Recruitment、Training and Management。Youjia B&B and Chengdu can also take over the landlord’s platform operations。 

Crowdsourcing can easily leverage more resources，But how to control the quality of service faces the test。As opposed to，Establishing your own team can better control quality，But the cost will also increase accordingly。Currently，Different platforms choose different paths，In the context of the gradual rise of the homestay and short-term rental industry in China，Upstream and downstream services around housing will simultaneously gain greater room for development。

Under the background that major homestay short-term rental platforms have entered the offline housing management operation，The second war between short-term rental platforms competing for offline resources，The curtain has begun。

*Source of this article: WeChat Public PlatformTaiwan “Tencent Deep Network”，(ID: qqshenwang)，Author: Han Yimin，Original title: "The sharing economy has gone from the peak to the trough，Surviving the short-term homestay crisis》.