Showing posts with label Airbnb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airbnb. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Travel startups have a hard time in China - William Bao Bean

William Bao Bean
A dramatic consolidation has made life tough for all startups in China, including those focusing on travel, says William Bao Bean, the managing director of its Chinaccelerator, China’s first and leading startup accelerator based in Shanghai, to Phocuswire. Opportunities he still sees for the fast-growing number of outbound Chinese tourists.

Phocuswire:
William Bao Bean has been active in startups and investing in Asia since 2004, and he says in the last few years there has been dramatic consolidation - similar to what has happened in other technology sectors - that has left three dominant players: Alibaba, Tencent and Ctrip. 
“This makes it challenging to be a startup,” he says. 
“It’s almost like the mice trying to run around while three elephants are walking around. And every once in a while they’ll accidentally - or maybe on purpose - step on the mice and there’s nothing the mice can do about it.” 
To survive in what he says is one of the most competitive markets in the world, startups must provide something that is truly unique and useful. 
“Going back five or 10 years, all you needed to do was show up and run faster than the next guy and you could build a pretty decent business,” Bean says.
But even with a superior product, survival is not guaranteed. Companies trying to reach a meaningful segment of China’s more than 1.4 billion residents need deep marketing budgets to pay for exposure on WeChat, Baidu and other mobile platforms. 
“Everywhere in the world customer acquisition cost is high, but in China it’s really, really high,” Bean says. 
“In the U.S. you might be able to spend $2 or $5 to get a user. In China, to get a user to download an app and open it once, it’s between $5 and $100.” 
So where are there opportunities for travel startups in China? Bean sees potential in areas such as experiences, particularly those offering unique, specialized products, and for startups that can create benefits for existing travel suppliers. 
One example that SOSV has invested in: U.S.-based Portier Technologies, which puts mobile phones in luxury hotel rooms, giving guests access to free data and minutes and giving the hotels a cut of revenue from services booked through the phone. 
But for non-Chinese companies such as Portier to succeed in that market, Bean says they need local market knowledge. 
“So if you are a big global player, you basically have to have a China play. But the issue is the infrastructure, the market, how you advertise, how you retain. Everything in China is a bit different,” he says. 
Bean cites Airbnb, a company his firm has worked with to understand the Chinese market, as an example of the learning curve. “Chinese culturally generally do not like being hosts. They really, really do not want some random person in their frickin’ house,” he says. 
"But the funny thing is, Chinese are perfectly willing to go live in somebody else’s house - especially if it’s in a nice neighborhood, in Los Angeles, in the hills. They love that. So Airbnb has not done particularly well signing up hosts, but they’ve been very successful at signing up Chinese who are traveling abroad.” 
Bean says the very large outbound market of travelers wanting new, unique and local experiences provides many opportunities for innovation. 
“As an investor, will I do another online travel agency? No. But there is still a lot of opportunity around travel, and there is still a lot of money to be made.”
More in Phocuswire.

William Bao Bean is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Are you looking for more experts on innovation at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.  

Friday, April 14, 2017

Ctrip: Airbnb's real threat - Jeffrey Towson

Jeffrey Towson
Airbnb has a chance in China, unlike many other US companies in the past, argued Beida business professor Jeffrey Towson earlier in the Guardian. On his weblog he gives the US company six additional advises, including marrying into Tencent and Alibaba. Also, Airbnb's real threat it the travel company Ctrip.

Jeffrey Towson:
Airbnb should worry about Ctrip. This is their biggest threat. 
In September, Airbnb announced it has had “a 500% increase in outbound travel from China in just the past year.” They also said “since 2008, there [has] been over 2 million guest arrivals from China at Airbnb listings worldwide.” These numbers strike me as pretty suspect (if you have good numbers in 2016, you don’t point all the way back to 2008). But let’s assume they have some decent adoption in China today. 
As mentioned, there is no chicken-and-egg problem for Airbnb cross-border. They already have an international network of apartments and guests. And, most importantly, they already have many of the strengths I mentioned in Part 1: a network effect, economies of scale in operations and marketing, a full suite of features and services, an ability to bundle services, and an ability to subsidize across their MSP. 
I don’t think Chinese competitors can compete with them internationally in home-sharing. It is very difficult to launch an international two-sided network in general. But to do so against an entrenched incumbent is next to impossible. So I think Tujia and Xiaozhu on their own have very little chance against Airbnb outside of China. However, Ctrip is a serious competitor internationally. They are making moves in this area (i.e., their recent acquisition of UK-based Skyscanner). They also are the largest investor in Tujia. 
Ctrip should worry Airbnb. My next article on the US-China platform wars is about Ctrip vs. Expedia internationally.
Five more tips for Airbnb at Jeffrey Towson's weblog.

Jeffrey Towson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Are you looking for more strategic experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out his list.    

Monday, April 03, 2017

Why Airbnb has a chance in China - Jeffrey Towson

Jeffrey Towson
China's markets are littered with failures by US firms, but Airbnb might actually have a chance, says Beida business professor Jeffrey Towson in the Guardian. Domestic competition is not strong, and Airbnb has opportunities in international travel by Chinese.

The Guardian:
The home-sharing market in China is still in its infancy, so, although Airbnb only has 80,000 listings there so far, its domestic competitors are not that far ahead. Xiaozhu, its most direct equivalent, has more than 100,000 listings, while Tujia, which is more of a holiday rental site and oversees the management of its properties, claims to have 450,000 listings. 
“It doesn’t strike me that anybody’s got this market yet. It looks like an open playing field,” says Jeffrey Towson, a professor of investment at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. By comparison, he says, when Uber entered China, its domestic competitors, Didi and Kuaidi, were firmly established. After a costly battle, Uber was forced to bow out. 
Airbnb’s other advantage is its global platform. As more young Chinese travel abroad and stay in Airbnb properties, the more likely they are to use it when they go home. 
“[Airbnb] should try to dominate outbound Chinese tourism immediately,” Towson says, putting the number of these trips at around 110m a year. “Go after all of them. The Chinese competitors, are they going to start finding listings in Brazil? They can’t do that.”
More in the Guardian.

Jeffrey Towson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

Are you looking for more strategy experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Check out this list.  

Monday, January 09, 2017

How Airbnb can win in China - Jeffrey Towson

Jeffrey Towson
Uber was the last American firm failing to enter China. But it has not stopped newcomers to enter this tough market. Airbnb is the latest arrival and Peking University business professor Jeffrey Towson gives the US firm some tips on how to win access at his LinkedIn page.

Jeffrey Towson:
2: Airbnb should focus first on dominating China’s outbound home-sharing market. 
In 2015, over 110M Chinese tourists flew overseas – where they stayed in hotels, short-term rentals and / or home-shares. Note: over 50% of tourists in Asia this past year were from China. 
This part of the market is much clearer. First, one side of the platform (the listed homes) is already in place. Second, the price differential for home shares versus hotels in places like New York and London is much more compelling. Especially for families. And third, the chicken-and-egg problem is already solved. The international platform is up and running. Uber did not have this type of cross-border market in China. Airbnb does and should try to dominate it quickly. 
Airbnb’s first line of attack can be a horizontal attack on travel agencies (an MSP vs. VI attack). They can use their big MSP to subsidize the prices to Chinese tourists currently using travel agencies and packages. Chinese tourists do not really travel independently yet. They prefer flight and hotel packages (plus visa and other services). Organized tour groups are also popular. 
However, two MSP competitors are operating in this space, Ctrip and Zhubaijia. Zhubaijia offers all-in-one outbound services, including accommodations, car rentals and customized guided tours for Chinese travelers. They are bundling home-sharing with other services. And they are providing quality control for Chinese families on their trips, such as convenient locations, quality checks, security, etc. However, Ctrip is the big competitor and will discussed in the next section. 
Uber never had this type of cross-border market when it entered China. The ride-sharing market is mostly locally. I would argue it is mostly city-by-city. Adding drivers in Chengdu doesn’t really benefit riders much in Beijing. But home-sharing is a naturally international market. So Airbnb should focus on this outbound segment. The market is big and clear – and they have strong advantages already in place. 
#3: Airbnb should worry about Ctrip. This is their biggest threat. 
In September, Airbnb announced it has had “a 500% increase in outbound travel from China in just the past year.” They also said “since 2008, there [has] been over 2 million guest arrivals from China at Airbnb listings worldwide.” These numbers strike me as pretty suspect (if you have good numbers in 2016, you don’t point all the way back to 2008). But let’s assume they have some decent adoption in China today. 
As mentioned, there is no chicken-and-egg problem for Airbnb cross-border. They already have an international network of apartments and guests. And, most importantly, they already have many of the strengths I mentioned in Part 1: a network effect, economies of scale in operations and marketing, a full suite of features and services, an ability to bundle services, and an ability to subsidize across their MSP. 
I don’t think Chinese competitors can compete with them internationally in home-sharing. It is very difficult to launch an international two-sided network in general. But to do so against an entrenched incumbent is next to impossible. So I think Tujia and Xiaozhu on their own have very little chance against Airbnb outside of China. However, Ctrip is a serious competitor internationally. They are making moves in this area (i.e., their recent acquisition of UK-based Skyscanner). They also are the largest investor in Tujia. Ctrip should worry Airbnb.
More at Jeffrey Towson´s LinkedIn Page.

Jeffrey Towson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more experts on managing your China risk? Do check out this list.  

Thursday, January 05, 2017

The war between US and Chinese platforms - Jeffrey Towson

Jeffrey Towson
Chinese platforms are going global: Ctrip, Didi, Alibaba, Baidu, UnionPay. Global platforms try to enter China: Airbnbn, Uber, Google, Facebook. Peking University business professor Jeffrey Towson welcomes us to the US-China platform war, and explores on his LinkedIn page the battle field.

Jeffrey Towson:
Point 3: Complementary and inter-connected platforms can be particularly powerful. A single platform is good. As mentioned, it can have lots of strengths, particularly when competing against a traditional vertically integrated merchant (VI). Especially, if you can get a network effect and some economies of scale going. 
But complementary networks can be even better. This is when you actually have two different (Multi-Sided Platforms) MSPs serving a common set of users. The two MSPs can sort of amplify each other. For example, Microsoft Word (an MSP) is helped by being on the Microsoft Operating system (another MSP). They both have a user group in common and amplify each other. A mapping application (sometimes an MSP) linked into Wechat (another MSP) is another example. Complementary networks are very common in China, where much of the mobile world has collapsed to a few powerful ecosystems (Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu). 
However, inter-connected platforms are arguably even better. This is when a platform (or set of features) is actually integrated within another platform - to the point that the whole thing becomes inseparable within a service. The feature the user group sees and uses is actually being delivered by several interconnected platforms. For example, advertising-based media (e.g., Yahoo, broadcast TV) is increasingly inter-connected with advertising networks (i.e,. platforms that match advertising buyers with available inventory in real-time). That’s how the ads on Yahoo, Baidu and Google get placed in real-time based on who you are or what you are looking at. There are actually +2 interconnected MSPs delivering this service.
More at Jeffrey Towson´s LinkedIn Page.

Jeffrey Towson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more strategy experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this page.  

Monday, November 07, 2016

Sticking to the law might be a good idea - Shaun Rein

Shaun Rein
Shaun Rein
Australian Crown expats who get incarcerated illustrate that sticking to China´s rules and regulations might be a good idea when doing business in China. Airbnb and Apple even risk a backlash of their Western constituency by hosting their China data in China. Still the best way to move forward, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein in The Street.

The Street:
Some experts hold different views, believing that government protectionism has limited U.S. tech firms' access to the Chinese market, forced them to do joint ventures and ultimately replace them with Chinese counterparts. 
"American internet players can succeed in China - they just have to follow Chinese law, understand the Chinese consumer and localize services," said Shaun Rein, Managing Director at Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. "Most western internet players have failed in China not because of government protectionism but because they simply did not understand the market and went against aggressive, well capitalized local players."
More in The Street.

Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form.

Are you looking for more experts to help you in managing your China risk? Do check out this list.