Rental service Airbnb is closing its business in China as there are no signs of an end to the pandemic lockdown, a source close to the company told AFP on Monday.
Airbnb will no longer stay or book visitor experiences in China, but will instead focus on helping people there with travel plans outside the country, the source said.
The San Francisco-based company declined to comment.
Airbnb started its business in China six years ago and has booked stays there for some 25 million guests. Home bookings in China have accounted for just one percent of Airbnb bookings in recent years, the company reports.
Airbnb faced strong competition in China, and COVID-19 made its operations there more complicated and expensive.
China has continued with its zero-COVID policy, imposing harsh lockdowns and movement restrictions on several cities, even as much of the rest of the world has transitioned to living with the coronavirus.
The curbs, including stay-at-home orders in Shanghai’s economic hub and creeping restrictions in Beijing, have taken a heavy economic toll.
Airbnb expects outbound tourism from China, which was booming before the pandemic, to recover as COVID-19 restrictions ease and borders reopen.
Bookings on Airbnb hit a new high in the first quarter of this year, the company said in a recent earnings report, indicating that demand for travel suppressed by the COVID-19 pandemic is unleashing.
Despite the Omicron wave and continued levels of infections, Airbnb bookings for lodging and travel “experiences” reached more than 102 million in the first three months of this year, setting a new quarterly record, the company said in a publication of the Results.
“Guests are booking more than ever before,” Airbnb said in a letter to shareholders.
“Looking ahead, we see strong continued pent-up demand.”
The company said the trend of people booking away from urban areas and staying relatively close to home continues, but guests return to cities and travel cross-border.