Before the National Day holiday，In a bungalow building located in the old town of Shanghai，Co-founder of Airbnb、Nathan Blecharzyk, chief strategy officer and chairman of China, and Peng Tao, China president who just took office, accepted an exclusive interview with Tencent-"Shenzhen Net"。

In a stylish western restaurant、Holding events in cafes or historical buildings is Airbnb’s consistent choice，After officially entering the Chinese market，Airbnb has never held a launch event in a hotel ballroom，And usually，Luxury hotel banquet halls are the first choice for most companies to release important information。

This choice is an expression of Airbnb’s corporate culture and temperament，Airbnb is a company with a unique cultural imprint，As the pioneer of the global shared accommodation model，Airbnb has captured many fans by providing an accommodation experience that is completely different from a hotel。Human touch、Localized experience and unique accommodation spaces are several key impressions Airbnb has created for itself，Behind these perceptual cognitions，It is Airbnb, which has been around for ten years, and has accumulated more than 4.5 million properties around the world。

Start by sharing an air mattress，Airbnb has turned the short-term rental business into a big business，Today，The Chinese market is an important part of its business territory。

Officially entered the Chinese market for more than three years，Airbnb is still exploring localization strategies in the Chinese market。For a platform company with global operations，How to global strategy、Strike a balance between corporate culture and local growth，It is an eternal topic worthy of discussion。In the context of frequent changes in leadership of Airbnb’s China business，What impact Peng Tao’s joining will have on business in China has attracted much attention。

The Chinese market with its huge user base is undoubtedly very important for Airbnb, which needs to tell a global story，So among Airbnb’s four major business units，Exclusively one for China business unit。

Compared to three years ago，Today Airbnb is facing a more complicated situation in the Chinese market: local online travel giants continue to increase investment in homestay short-term rental business，The scale of Xiaozhu and other players cannot be ignored，The upper reaches of the industry chain has attracted more and more people to join，The attitudes of the public and regulators towards shared accommodation are also quietly changing。

In front of the ever-changing internal and external environment，How Airbnb’s war in China will proceed？Airbnb chose to let China Chairman Bai Siqi and newly appointed executive Peng Tao jointly answer this question。

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In fact，Airbnb’s road to China has not been smooth sailing，Three years ago，When it announced its official entry into the Chinese market，Uber and Didi are fighting fiercely，Uber’s fierce road to China is ahead，Airbnb’s entry has been given a lot of expectations by domestic players in the same industry - compared with the shared travel industry，Shared accommodation was still in its early stages at that time，Chinese players hope Airbnb can catalyze the development of the industry，But Airbnb did not choose to do this。

Not only not as radical 188bet app as Uber，Airbnb’s journey into China can even be described as “slow and slow”，To this，Chinese short-term rental colleagues once gave this teacher a "relatively regrettable" evaluation of his performance in China。But things are changing。

Since 2016，Airbnb accelerates the pace of localization，That year it began to expand its local team in China；In the first half of 2017, Ge Hong, head of China business, was appointed as global vice president，Released Chinese name Airbnb，And expanded the business from focusing on outbound travel to focusing on outbound travel and domestic travel；October 2017，Affected by Ge Hong’s resignation，Bai Siqi assumes the position of Chairman of China，And subsequently announced the establishment of a local customer service center in China、Strategies such as expanding local presence；March this year，Airbnb’s 10th anniversary global strategy officially launched in China，Early July，Airbnb announces investment in local homestay hosting platform Chengsu，Subsequently，Peng Tao announced that he will join as President of China。

Although it does not show its "ferocious" appearance，But the outside world can still capture Airbnb’s pace of accelerating localization in the Chinese market from its series of actions。These attempts have been quite effective，According to "Deep Web" Xiaozhu、Feedback received from senior executives and business leaders of important domestic homestay short-term rental companies such as Tujia，Airbnb is still their most concerned competitor。Compared with the "relative" evaluation two years ago，I can feel that Airbnb China’s localization report card is being rewritten。

Based on the latest data provided by Airbnb，Currently，In addition to the rapid growth of outbound tourism, Airbnb’s business in China，Domestic tourism is also developing rapidly，Judging from the number of booking days，Domestic tourism already accounts for 50% of Airbnb’s business in China。And it used to be a first-tier city that developed rapidly，But now the growth in some second-tier cities has reached 170%。In first-tier cities，Airbnb’s average daily room rate increased by 10%，This reflects the increasing demands of tenants，And the quality of listings is also improving。

Note: ADR refers to the average room rate of rooms sold

These data show，China’s lower-tier cities will become Airbnb’s new growth points，The increase in domestic housing availability and bookings，Meaning that this short-term rental giant has taken an important step on the road to China。

Targeting China’s outbound tourists，To travel abroad、Pay equal attention to domestic travel，And now it is sinking to more cities in China，As Airbnb’s business in China continues to deepen，The challenges facing this global short-term rental giant will also be more complex，And whether the rewritten results of entering China can be continued and further improved，This is the biggest test before Peng Tao and his team in China。

New local practices

There are few successful cases of foreign Internet companies entering China，How much autonomy is given to Chinese teams is often a key factor in determining success or failure。There are many cases before，After careful exploration，Airbnb is trying to maintain full communication with the China team，Give them greater power。Investing in the local B&B hosting platform Chengsu is a typical case of this model。

July this year，Airbnb announces investment of US$5 million in domestic homestay hosting platform Chengsu。Airbnb name，This move will increase Airbnb’s supply of high-quality listings across China，Provide Airbnb hosts with more offline resources and services，At the same time，It will also help Chengsu obtain more properties across the country。

Investing in Citystay is an attempt under Airbnb’s grand strategy。188bet sports betting app download According to Peng Tao’s introduction，Airbnb’s three major strategies for the future are: focus on brand、Quality and Community，“These are the three pillars of love and relationships，Or the three major engines。”In China’s special market environment，B&B hosting platform is now an important force in improving the quality of B&Bs，Investment in Chengsu，Can be seen as Airbnb’s trial based on the local market。

In Bai Siqi’s view，Investing in Chengdu is like an experiment，“Airbnb asks itself a question，How can we empower emerging ecosystems and partners，This is why we invest，We hope to further share what we learned from our interactions with Chengsu with the community。It is not closed、Confidential，Instead, it’s like a laboratory making prototype samples。”

Bai Siqi revealed to "Deep Web"，It only took just one month from contacting City Inn to finally making the decision to invest in Airbnb。“This is a decision that I made together with the Chinese team，Of course the investment subject must be the global headquarters，As the chairman of China, I can help realize such a transaction，If a character like me didn’t exist，It may require more communication costs，And there will be greater challenges。”

With Bai Siqi as a bridge of communication as a premise，In order to maximize the effectiveness of the local team，Airbnb chooses to continue to expand the scope of power of the Chinese team。

In an exclusive conversation with Tencent "Deep Web"，Bai Siqi, who represents the will of Airbnb headquarters, has repeatedly emphasized that the attitude is "full authorization"，This includes the Chinese team having an independent budget、Independent team and own products。Bai Siqi, who positions himself as a bridge between the China region and the headquarters, said，“My main purpose of coming to China，First, provide some suggestions for Peng Tao when formulating strategies，Can provide him with the resources of the global team。"Peng Tao said to "Deep Web"，The construction of the Chinese team is entirely determined by it。

The cooperation between Bai Siqi, who represents the headquarters, and Peng Tao, who is responsible for the Chinese market, has obviously begun，Conversing，Mentioned by Bai Siqi，“Peng Tao put forward many goals，Brings a lot of urgency to our team。”

Whether it is the appointment of the new person in charge of China，This is the further implementation of a series of localization measures，For Airbnb，New localization practice begins。

Attachment: "Deep Web" exclusive conversation record with Bai Siqi and Peng Tao

China Region Strategy

"Deep Web":Airbnb has always emphasized that China has great autonomy，After Peng Tao took office，Whether the China team will be adjusted or expanded，Are these decisions entirely led by Peng Tao or will the headquarters also give suggestions？

Peng Tao: This is entirely up to me，The most important thing is how we build a team，Develop a product independently，Better satisfy Chinese consumers。

"Deep Web":Is it mainly considering recruiting more people in China?

Peng Tao: Yes，We are always recruiting talents，Hope more people will join Airbnb。

"Deep Web":What are your requirements for team members and the core qualities you value？

Peng Tao:The first thing is to have a high degree of recognition of your dream；In addition, you must be able to solve problems，Providing a good experience requires crossing gaps；Third，Need to have a spirit of collaboration，Because the problem to be solved requires joint efforts。

"Deep Web":How the president and chairman of Airbnb China work together？Many overseas companies will have some communication problems after establishing branches in China，How do you ensure that such a problem does not occur，Is there any system or method to ensure that the work proceeds normally？

Bai Siqi:I will come to China once every month，Peng Tao is responsible for strategy and strategy execution in China，He has an independent budget、Independent teams also have their own products。

My main purpose of coming to China，One is to provide some suggestions when Peng Tao formulates strategies，You can also provide him with the resources that the global team has。Secondly, you can also listen to Peng Tao’s opinions，Share with him my experience and observations in global operations，This way there is no need for Peng Tao to fly to the United States，Because I hope he can focus on China business。

So I will serve as a bridge between Airbnb America and China，Although China is indeed a very autonomous subject，But it is also very important to establish good communication between the China team and the headquarters。

"Deep Web":Not long ago, Airbnb invested in Chengsu, a Chinese homestay hosting company，Is this an investment made by Airbnb headquarters or China，Do you have any further investment plans in China in the future？

Bai Siqi:This is just a small part of the big strategy，This phenomenon is a very good thing，Because they are also able to provide very high quality accommodation and experiences。Airbnb will ask itself a question，How can we work with emerging ecosystems and partners to empower them，This is why we invest in them，What we hope to learn from our relationship with them，Share to the community，It is not a closed and confidential thing，Instead, it’s like a laboratory making prototype samples。

"Deep Web":How did you learn about this emerging company and make this decision？

Bai Siqi:In fact, we have conducted research on all such companies around the world，Probably including more than a hundred companies。Quality is top priority for us，We want to achieve high quality in various ways。

On the one hand, we train individual hosts through Airbnb’s Host Academy，Tell them about some best practices in the industry，How to provide a better experience，This is also the root of Airbnb。On the other hand，Facing the establishment of an emerging professional ecosystem，We must also get close to them，We should also think about how to cooperate with them，It is for this reason that we invested in Chengsu。

The decision to invest in Chengsu was made jointly by the Chinese team and I，Of course the investment subject must be the global headquarters，As the chairman of China，Can help realize such a transaction，If a character like me didn’t exist，It may require more communication (cost)，And there will be greater challenges。

I can explain it in another way，Because I am a co-founder，Also Global Chief Strategy Officer，So I have very deep contact with the global development of the group，I can see global development plans and possible projects，I can bring this consideration to the Chinese team，Communicate with them on how to implement such a plan in China，Or is it beneficial to China’s strategic plan，This enables collaboration。

We have a global strategy，And apply local background，This is our way。

"Deep Web":How long did it take from contacting this company to making the final investment decision？

Bai Siqi:It’s very short, about a month.

"Deep Web":What is Airbnb’s next main strategic direction in China？

Peng Tao: The main thing is to better bring our brand into the hearts of more Chinese people，Continue to improve quality、Make fine，Third continues to invest in building our community，Let our community experience some of the dreams and culture of Airbnb。

"Deep Web":Will Airbnb sink?，For example, promoting more second- and third-tier cities？

Peng Tao:We have been doing this，Our growth is very fast in second-tier cities，So we are constantly adjusting ourselves，How to adapt to this network effect，Serve them better，Because this is how we can realize our dreams，Our dream is that Airbnb is for everyone。

Bai Siqi: 188bet sports betting app download Peng Tao also put forward many goals，Brings a lot of urgency to our team。

"Deep Web":Japan’s regulations on B&Bs will take effect in the first half of this year，Has a relatively large impact on Airbnb’s operations in Japan，In China，With the growing growth of the homestay short-term rental industry，Relevant supervision has also been tightened，Since this year，Conflicts between owners and B&B operators are also on the rise，For you，Whether regulatory uncertainty will affect the development of business in China？How do you deal with the relationship between the new economic form of homestay short-term rental and supervision？

Bai Siqi:Let me talk about Japan first，They hope to promote the homestay sharing business，Part of the reason is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics，They face the problem of insufficient accommodation or hotels，The promotion and final passage of the legislation was also motivated by the desire to encourage the development of this industry，So it’s a very positive thing。You may encounter some practical challenges at the implementation level and details，But these are only short-term challenges，After all, Japan is very active in this industry，They also hope that this industry can develop。

China is also more cautious about shared accommodation，But we can see that B&B sharing, including the sharing economy, is proposed in the government’s five-year plan，Now we have some conversations with regulators that have gone into great detail，Discuss how to formulate laws and regulations。These conversations and exchanges involve companies in our industry，The whole conversation was very open，And it has been well thought out。

Peng Tao:Additional point，Every time Airbnb enters a market, it will specifically communicate with the local regulatory agencies，Understand their worries and anxieties，We think about how we can solve these problems from every detail。About community building，Includes some guidance for Airbnb users，How to be a good user。At the same time，Provide some safety guidance to landlords。Anyway，We will actively cooperate with local regulatory agencies，Make this market sustainable、A market that can bring win-win results。

The law of balance between personality and quality

"Deep Web":Airbnb has always been an accommodation platform that attaches great importance to personalized experience，Starting from this year，Airbnb strengthens training for hosts，Why is there such a change？

Peng Tao:We have been paying attention to user experience，We have a very complex quality feedback system，Based on feedback system，We will know what areas need improvement，Signals obtained based on these feedback systems，We will use various channels，Help everyone make up for their shortcomings whether online or offline，For example, the Landlord Academy provides some tips on how to be a good landlord，Continuously create a better quality stay experience，So this is just part of the big plan。

Bai Siqi: Airbnb is a platform that provides services，Serving both tenants，Also serves landlords，As time goes by，We are also constantly expanding our services and products，And this service will be extended to the city and surrounding neighbors，This is the process of our continued maturation as an ecosystem，It is also the service that needs to be provided as a platform。

"Deep Web":Airbnb regulates or trains hosts，Will it detract from the personalization of the platform？

Peng Tao:This is not contradictory at all，Because the entire travel experience is divided into two parts，One is the underlying hardware facility，Safety、Clean and convenient；On the other hand, software is people，This is why we focus on community building。

When we are communicating with the landlord，It’s more about teaching them to do the hardware details well，The purpose is to solve guests’ safety problems、188bet sports betting app download Concerns about hygiene and convenience。But the entire communication process between landlord and tenant and the design of the house are still in full bloom、Everything strange，This is the characteristic of Airbnb，Every landlord is different。

Bai Siqi: We have such a feedback method at Airbnb，Guests will leave a review after each stay，Hosts with higher ratings will receive more bookings，You will earn more，The landlord will slowly learn what to do to improve his rating。We launched the Airbnb Host Academy to popularize these best practices。

I am coming to China to stay overnight，Stayed in a B&B for many years，My experience improves every time，I now also see that landlords are providing more and more things in their residences，Unlike in the early days, there was nothing，Give an example，When I last lived in Beijing，The landlord there not only provided me with water，At the same time, the refrigerator is filled with various drinks，There are fruits on the table，The total price of everything is only a few dollars，But through these details, I feel that the landlord cares about me，So I am also very satisfied。

The landlord actually learned a lot of secrets in this process，How to be more successful，How to seize the economy in competition。

The story of looking for the head of China business

"Deep Web":When you receive a call from a headhunter，Airbnb is looking for you for an interview，What was your first reaction?？

Peng Tao:I thought it was a good opportunity for me to meet the founder of Airbnb，Everything else is a second consideration，I haven’t thought of any future plans，But through chatting, I feel that our thoughts are highly consistent，I also found that Bai Siqi is a very friendly person。We also talked about many similarities at that time，Because I was also an engineer before，He is also an engineer，So we chatted happily，Slowly I feel that this may be an option in the future。I originally wanted to do something meaningful when I returned to China，I want to redefine travel，This is the dream I have been chasing。On such a platform，Everyone has a common dream，Joining such a team will make me feel energetic every day，This is a particularly happy thing。

Bai Siqi:Just to add，Share a short story，Before I contacted Mr. Peng Tao, I knew he was an entrepreneur，Is an entrepreneur，I also know that it is difficult to find such a NPC company，I brought him a book "The Story of Airbnb" when I met him，There are two purposes，One is if he really reads this book，He must be taking it seriously，Second if he reads this book，He will understand，Because he is also an entrepreneur。Later he read this book，So he must be able to find the similarities between us。

Peng Tao:That book actually gave me a different understanding of Airbnb，Before I was more of a user，Also as a landlord，Knowing that the image it creates is very beautiful，Very high style，Very sentimental，But that book can show how Airbnb created such a business model step by step through dreams，Complete such a complex structure。As an entrepreneur，I also did 6 while traveling、7 years，Many details moved me，In such a process，I think I can join a company that I like and is very challenging。

I am a person who likes challenges，I like climbing mountains the most，This process makes me feel like it is a career that I like very much，I have been chasing this dream，But this work, including the next step we have to do, is very challenging，Together these three points make me excited。

"Deep Web":Just now Bai Siqi introduced you to the first meeting and chatted for two and a half hours，Then we made an appointment to meet for the second time and chatted for five hours，How long has it been since these two meetings？

Peng Tao:The interval is very short，After we finished talking，Bai Siqi hopes to have the next follow-up，At that time I had a decision to make，Finally, Bai Siqi said，See you in one day or two days，I think San Francisco is quite far away，I am very touched，He came by plane，Stayed for about a day and then left，Basically we had two meals and then he flew back，This still impresses me。This process also builds mutual trust，We talked in many details，Makes me think this thing is very reliable。

Our chat is very open，So Bai Siqi used his own practical actions，It has made a big difference to me，He has no airs，Very approachable，It did touch on some points that touched me，And he is solving some practical problems，And I am a person who likes to solve problems，To me these are fun。Through those 5 hours of breakfast and lunch，It makes me feel that this matter is a cause that I am willing to work hard for。

*This article comesSource: Tencent "Deep Web", author：Han Yimin，Original title:《Shenzhen Net》.