B&B giant 188bet mobile, which wanted to rely on the Tokyo Olympics to make a comeback，I didn’t expect that the Tokyo Olympics would not only be delayed by one year，It is also restricted。

The Tokyo 188bet mobile opening ceremony will be today (July 23) at 19:00 pm，Held at Tokyo National Arena。

However，The number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan has been rising for four consecutive weeks。Meaning that the 188bet mobile Games will be opened and held during the "state of emergency" declared by the cabinet from July 12 to August 22。According to Reuters report，A hotel in Hamamatsu where the Brazilian 188bet mobile delegation stayed，Seven staff members tested positive for COVID-19，There are concerns about the rebound of the epidemic。In order to prevent and control the epidemic，The organizer can only control the number of spectators entering the venue，Original 6.80,000-seat stadium，Only 950 "VIPs" can enter the opening ceremony。

In this way，The organizer Tokyo 188bet mobile Organizing Committee and most sponsors，Will face huge losses due to low audience traffic。

Estimated，The economic losses of the Tokyo Olympic Committee will reach 2.41 trillion yen (approximately RMB 150.7 billion)。2020 Tokyo 188bet mobile Gold Medal Partner、Official Partner of the 2020 Tokyo 188bet mobile、Olympic Global Partner，The publicity effect will be greatly reduced，Unable to meet original investment expectations。

Especially 188bet mobile, the short-term rental giant that just became the top global sponsor of the Olympic Games，It’s because people are increasingly inclined to “stay at home”，Travel demand fell and business volume dropped sharply。This time, we suffered a double blow from publicity channels and demand。

The “worst” 188bet mobile partner

originally，The 2020 Tokyo 188bet mobile is expected to be a model of win-win for sports and business。

2019，John Coates, chairman of the Tokyo 188bet mobile Coordination Committee, announced a rather proud figure，Tokyo 188bet mobile has already won including Toyota、Business sponsorship from 62 local sponsors including Bridgestone and Panasonic，Revenues over .1 billion，The amount is three times that of the previous Olympic Games。The wealthy Toyota Group also participated in the development of the "Tokyo 2020 Robot Project" specifically for the Tokyo 188bet mobile，Intended to promote Toyota’s electric vehicles and autonomous driving projects through Olympic events。

With the postponement of the Tokyo 188bet mobile and the sharp drop in tourist traffic，Toyota’s enthusiasm is probably in vain。According to Japanese media report on July 20，Toyota announced that it will no longer run related advertising at the 188bet mobile，President Akio Toyoda will not attend the Olympic opening ceremony either。

But the worst was on November 18, 2019，188bet mobile has just joined the Olympic Global Partner (TOP):

According to the Financial Times，188bet mobile spent US0 million in 2019，Became one of the 14 Olympic global partners (TOP)。For brand promotion and market expansion，188bet mobile must provide athlete accommodation sponsorship equivalent to at least US million，As well as providing barrier-free facilities for Paralympic athletes。But the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year，Not only did the publicity fail to meet expectations，The homestay business is still affected by the epidemic，Last year the company’s net loss even reached 45.USD 8.5 billion。

188bet mobile was established in San Francisco, USA，Known as "Started with three mattresses"，It is an Internet shared accommodation giant that combines homestays and short-term rentals。By 2018，188bet mobile has been launched in 191 countries around the world，Service users exceed 300 million。Mid 2018，188bet mobile begins its aggressive expansion into the Asian market，The first half of 2019 alone，188bet mobile’s business in China has tripled。

There are 13 original sponsors of the Olympic Global Partner (TOP) program，includes Coca-Cola、VISA、Samsung、Intel，There are also companies such as Alibaba in China。188bet mobile is the latest partner，Became the youngest among the 14 companies。When becoming an Olympic global partner，188bet mobile isn’t even officially launched yet。

Compared to traditional hotels，188bet mobile based on the sharing economy，Emphasis on unique travel experience。Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of 188bet mobile said，“Travel as we used to know it is over”。188bet mobile’s accommodation innovation，Reflected in its launch of 188bet mobile experience (188bet mobile experience) and 188bet mobile adventures (188bet mobile adventures)，Breakthrough from simple accommodation，Joined life experience。

originally，The Olympic Games are a rare publicity and growth opportunity for 188bet mobile。

On the one hand，If travel is not yet filled with meaningful experiences，Then it must be "given" a meaning。And sports events and Olympic spirit，Exactly meets this need，has become 188bet mobile’s favorite “unique cultural experience” part of shared B&Bs。On the other hand，A large number of overseas tourists traveling to Japan，It can also attract a large number of new user groups to 188bet mobile，Thus promoting its listing。

For hotels during the Olympics、Air tickets、For travel agencies and B&Bs，These are rare opportunities，Especially the Internet-owned accommodation sharing mainly operated by 188bet mobile。According to Japan’s Mizuho Research Institute，The number of overseas tourists visiting Japan within the year will reach 34 million。"Nikkei Trading" reported，Originally scheduled to be the opening day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics，The price of the booked B&B has increased to 23 times the usual price。The closer the homestay is to the main Olympic stadium, the higher the price will be，A one-bedroom apartment that you can usually get for just 20,000 yen，During the Olympics, you need to pay about 450,000 yen。

Especially during the Olympics，Most of the major local hotels will be banned by the Olympic Organizing Committee、Large travel agency booking。For individual travelers and young people traveling alone，It’s simply “hard to find a room”。It is difficult for young people to book hotels for Olympic travel，Just the key to acquiring customers for 188bet mobile。If we can achieve success with the Tokyo Olympics，It will be much easier for 188bet mobile to localize its operations in East Asia。

As a company valued at US5.5 billion、Companies facing IPO challenges，188bet mobile desperately needs exposure through the Olympics，To enhance its brand influence。

Joe Gebbie, another co-founder of 188bet mobile, signed the agreement with the International Olympic Committee on behalf of the company，The Olympic Organizing Committee announced that 188bet mobile will become a top sponsor for 9 years。His sponsorship of the Olympics，Starting from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics，Experienced the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics、2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics，By the end of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics。188bet mobile will cooperate with the Olympic Committee on accommodation，So that organizers do not need to build a large number of new accommodation buildings。On the one hand, it can reduce the investment cost of building facilities for the Olympic Games organizers，On the other hand, it can increase the short-term rental income of local people。188bet mobile will also provide barrier-free facilities for Paralympic athletes，Meeting the needs of Paralympic athletes。

Joe Gebbia brings his own B&B business idea，Combined with the international nature of the Olympic Games，Proposed 188bet mobile’s vision and slogan of “creating a world where home is everywhere”。188bet mobile has also launched no less than Olympic-related marketing activities，Attract young people to come to these Olympic venues to “experience life”。These experiences include "Training with Olympians"、"Explore the City with Athletes"、“The 188bet mobile community lives up to the Olympic spirit” and more。

188bet mobile estimate，Sponsoring the International Olympic Committee for the next 9 years，Hundreds of thousands of people around the world will become 188bet mobile hosts and tenants。Calculated this way，188bet mobile has not lost money on global market expansion。

The life-saving straw that cannot be grasped

But as the 2020 new crown epidemic spreads around the world，The global tourism and hotel industries have been hit hard，About 188bet mobile’s “bankruptcy”、There are endless rumors of “almost losing all business”。In addition，There is no way to grasp the "life-saving straw" of the Tokyo Olympics。Because of the epidemic，There are voices advocating “postponing the Olympics” both in Japan and abroad，As a result, the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics made 188bet mobile even worse。

The direct impact of the epidemic on 188bet mobile is mainly reflected in two aspects:

People’s travel is blocked，Massive cancellation of reservations，Causing 188bet mobile to lose a lot of users。

The landlord no longer dares to share his house with distant strangers，I no longer dare to list my home on 188bet mobile，Causing 188bet mobile to lose some listings。According to Transparent data，In the past year, 188bet mobile has lost 10% of its hosts who only had one listing。

188bet mobile itself is an Internet home-sharing company that provides a bridge between hosts and users，Exploring the potential of "stock housing" and "non-standard accommodation"。But the epidemic has caused ruptures at both ends of the sharing economy，188bet mobile is naturally stressful。

Mid 2020，188bet mobile CEO mentioned in the interview，The epidemic has completely changed the original tourism model，Many short trips，Less long-distance travel。His speech was also interpreted by many people as: 188bet mobile has been established since its establishment，Business volume that took 12 years to obtain，Almost all was lost within 4-6 weeks of the outbreak。188bet mobile’s 2020 financial report is also shown，The company achieved annual revenue of 33.USD 7.8 billion，Net loss reaches 45.USD 8.5 billion。Annual short-term rental booking volume and booking amount are facing a sharp decline，Decreased by 41% and 37% year-on-year。

Although the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been postponed due to the new crown epidemic，188bet mobile’s own business has also been greatly affected。But on November 16, 2020, US time，188bet mobile still submitted an IPO application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission，And logged into Nasdaq on December 11th，IPO financing of US.5 billion，Became the largest IPO in the US stock market that year。188bet mobile opened with a market capitalization of US billion，Exceeds the US.2 billion market capitalization of Booking, an established hotel reservation website。

According to "Economic Observer" report，CITIC Securities analysts cited the reason why 188bet mobile is rushing to go public，Comes down to “continued financial constraints”。188bet mobile continues to “burn money” in its early market expansion，Become a top sponsor of the Olympic Games and enjoy the honor at the same time，Also accompanied by huge financial pressure。

In order to alleviate cost pressure，188bet mobile has cut nearly billion in marketing expenses，Marketing basically suspended。According to US CNBC report，188bet mobile laid off a quarter of its employees，Recruitment suspended，Even the founder said that he will not receive salary for the time being，Other executives of the company will only receive half their salary in the next six months。

When the revenge trip comesPron, 188bet mobile still has bonuses

Is 188bet mobile losing money by sponsoring the Olympics?

Actually，188bet mobile becomes an Olympic Global Partner (TOP)，Different from Tokyo Olympics sponsor。188bet mobile and the International Olympic Committee are not a “one-shot deal”，But a long-term cooperative relationship。

The Tokyo Olympics has been greatly affected by the epidemic，But there will be the 2022 Beijing Olympics after that，2024 Paris Olympics, etc.。And the Olympic hosting cities in the next few years，Just about Asia, which 188bet mobile values ​​most、European market。When the global epidemic is under control，People’s demand for travel is bound to rebound，There may be a “retaliatory increase” in travel intention。This is 188bet mobile’s future dividend。

Picture

May 14 this year，188bet mobile released its first quarter financial report for 2021。Data display，188bet mobile’s total booking value in the first quarter of 2021 increased by 50% compared with the same period last year (2020)，We can also see the recovery of the homestay industry in the post-epidemic era。According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council，Time for the tourism industry to recover from a major crisis event，has been shortened to less than 10 months。The time span between the two Olympic Games，Just enough to cover the recovery time，188bet mobile will still be able to enjoy the Olympic dividends。

First is the Asia-Pacific market。According to 188bet mobile’s data in recent years，Except North American market，The Asia-Pacific market is its main growth point。

188bet mobile entered the Chinese market in 2015，The initial splash was not big。The official Chinese brand name "188bet mobile" was only available in 2017。Even so，This name still sounds awkward to pronounce，188bet mobile has not really adapted to the localization of the Chinese market。September 2018，Peng Tao appointed President of 188bet mobile China，China has become 188bet mobile’s home market in addition to the United States，The only independent product、Market for independent teams，Localization strategies and brand marketing plans are determined by the Chinese team，Also has an independent budget。

September 2020，188bet mobile has teamed up with VISA to launch the “Winter Olympics with Her” project，Helping women’s small and micro enterprises seize development opportunities in the Beijing Winter Olympics。188bet mobile can still take advantage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics，Create more product experiences that connect China and the world。June 16 this year，188bet mobile held an offline sharing session in Beijing，Proposed “Travel is coming back，188bet mobile is in place”，The purpose is to empower the landlord community，Continue to promote "meaningful travel"。

Followed by the European (Paris) market，The 2024 Paris Olympics will be held in 3 years。Paris was originally one of the cities with the largest number of 188bet mobile houses，But subject to French official short-term rental policy，Short-term rental owners need to register online，Get registration number，Otherwise there is a risk of being fined。188bet mobile cooperates with the International Olympic Committee，Helps establish a reliable and legal brand image，Gain an overwhelming advantage in the European short-term rental sharing market。

188bet mobile is currently jointly launching the "188bet mobile Athlete Travel Grant" project with the International Olympic Committee。Plans to spend US million over the next 8 years，Sponsored travel accommodation for athletes。According to 188bet mobile data，Athlete Travel Subsidy、188bet mobile Olympia Experience、Paralympic Accessible Accommodation、Special commendation for athletes，The company has invested US million (RMB 2 in cooperation with the International Olympic Committee.USD 600 million)。

In the short term，The promotional effect of the Tokyo Olympics did not meet expectations，It is difficult for 188bet mobile to develop under the epidemic。But in the long run，188bet mobile still enjoys long-term dividends from the Olympic economy。188bet mobile can still leverage the Olympics，Play your own market expansion and brand integration cards。

*Source of this article: WeiboLetter to the public account "Xiaguangshe" (ID:Globalinsights)，Author: Terukawa，Original title: "Does 188bet mobile regret sponsoring the Tokyo Olympics?？》.