Xiaozhu’s business model hews closest to Airbnb’s. Beyond traditional accommodation, it also offers services that help homeowners improve the look and feel of property for would-be renters.
Ctrip is also pushing into Korea, Japan and other Asian markets as part of a wider global push which will see it take on rivals like Expedia.
Revenues from in-store, hotel & travel businesses in the first half of 2018 increased by 44.1% to RMB 6.8 billion from RMB 4.7 billion in the same period of 2017.
Wimdu, Europe’s most well-funded clone of short-term rental search company Airbnb, will close by the end of the year because of “significant financial and business challenges”.
China, USA and India take the top three spots in the new rankings in tourism’s contribution to GDP, international visitor spend, domestic tourism spend and capital investment.
Growth is slowing, but travel players remain bullish; competition is rising, but incumbents remain bold; the big are getting bigger, but the small are undaunted.
Ctrip revealed that 83% of Chinese travelers to Japan check restaurants before their departing, and 35% go to a restaurant directly.
The partnership is part of Reserve with Google, which launched in 2017 after a pilot in late 2016, and enables consumers to book local business via search, maps and the Reserve with Google website.