90% of Surveyed Airbnb China Hosts Willing to Host in 2021: Report

On Jan. 18, vacation rental online marketplace company Airbnb’s China branch held an online press conference to launch the “Airbnb China Host Community Report 2020” and announce the winners of the Bélo Awards 2020.

The report summarizes the diversified and creative initiatives carried out in the Chinese host community in 2020.

According to the report, “multiple-career”, “well-educated” and “diversified” are the top three labels attached to Airbnb hosts in China. 

82% of Chinese Airbnb hosts have another job, and 90% have some university or a higher education degree. The top three industries that Chinese hosts work in are arts and entertainment, technology and the Internet, and real estate.

The report also points out that more than 90% of interviewed Chinese hosts made at least one recommendation to their guests in the past year, while 79% of interviewed guests visited places suggested by their hosts. 

Moreover, 90% of the businesses recommended by hosts are locally owned, bringing the attraction spots and shops economic benefits amid the recovering economy effected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“This is the second consecutive year that we released the host community report, in which we celebrated the resilience and cohesion of the Airbnb host community in such a special year,” said Chris Zhang, Head of Airbnb China Supply.

As a host-centered platform, Airbnb has set up a “Host Advisory Board” in 2020, looking to better listen to the voices of hosts, in which Ningyi, a host from Hangzhou, China, joined as a representative of Chinese hosts to make suggestions on behalf of the local community.

SEE ALSO: Airbnb China Appoints Siew Kum Hong as Chief Operating Officer

Winners of the Bélo Awards 2020, an award launched in 2017, were also revealed and introduced at the virtual event.

Among the 700 submissions collected in 80 cities across China, more than half of the applicants applied for the Best Design Award. And Chang from Dali and Guo Qi from Chengdu won this year’s “Best Design” award with their unique aesthetics.

A special award named “Host Hero” went to Kenny, an interior designer from Wuhan, and Shui from Zhangjiajie due to their support to their communities amid the pandemic. 

“As an Airbnb host community leader in Wuhan, I called upon other local hosts to offer free accommodation to medical workers after COVID-19 broke out in the city. Many hosts answered my call in just a few days,” said Kenny

Since 2008, Airbnb hosts around the world have earned a cumulative income of more than $110 billion (about 726 billion yuan). 

Last December, the company went public with a valuation of over $100 billion, standing out as one of the biggest IPOs of 2020.