With nearly three-fold year-over-year growth in China in Q1 2019, the president of Airbnb China, Peng Yu, expects the country to become Airbnb’s top revenue-driver by 2020, 36Kr reports.
The company’s Airbnb Plus offering, which provides hotel-like listings, was also up 800% in Q1 2019 compared with the year before.
Strong growth in China will bolster Airbnb’s IPO plans. The company was expected to go public in 2019, though last month co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said it might hold off for now.
Nevertheless, Airbnb still occupies only 7% of China’s home-sharing sector, living in the shadow of local giants Tujia and Xiaozhu who command a combined 50% of the market.