As per media sources, India is among the three fastest-growing emerging markets for the US tech hospitality platform, Airbnb and will go on with more investments from the online home stay company on the back of globetrotting Indian millennials, said by a top company official.
“Europe and North America are the largest markets for us but from an emerging (economy) standpoint, India is in the top three and growing one of the fastest” said Greg Greeley, President, Homes, Airbnb.
A study revealed by Airbnb, India’s popularity on the platform is also growing, with Kerala emerging among the top 20 global destinations for 2020. In fact, given the growing traction for the North-East, Airbnb has tied up with the Nagaland government and will be the accommodation partner for the Hornbill festival next month.
Founded in 2008 Airbnb, is spread across 191 countries and commenced its Indian operation in May 2016, where it has 54,000 listings across 110 cities. Eleven years on, the company says it is ready for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020. It has also announced plans to enter the transportation segment, and in January this year hired aviation industry professional Fred Reid as the global head of transportation.
The platform offers experiences which are unique to each region such as food tours, biking tours, pottery classes and museum tours, among others.
Chris Lehane, head of global public policy, Airbnb said, “With 31,000 properties, we are now the largest hospitality player in India, if you compare with other hotel chains.” “India is very significant for us. It is not just one of the top 3 priority markets, but has potential of becoming the largest market in the future,” Lehane added.
