Airbnb looks to China to achieve its growth ambition

A man browsing the Airbnb site on a tablet on April 28, 2016. [File Photo: VCG]

U.S.-based home-sharing service provider Airbnb is launching Airbnb Plus in cities across China in an attempt to make the country its biggest market by 2020, reports thepaper.cn. 

"Our goal is to welcome more than one billion guests by 2028, and we cannot reach this goal without our Airbnb China community," says Co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk. He says the company is shifting more weight to China's domestic travel market after experiencing a 300-percent growth there last year.

Shanghai is among the first 13 cities in the world that will provide Airbnb Plus homes, which have been inspected in person to ensure they meet quality standards. The initiative will later be extended to Beijing and Chengdu. 

An Airbnb Host Academy has been launched exclusively in China to help hosts better advertise their properties.