Airbnb use surges in India

There has been 185 % jump in travellers from India, Airbnb Co-Founder Nathan Blecharczyk said. — PHOTO: RAMESH SHARMA

Airbnb, the San Francisco-based homestay listing giant, has witnessed tremendous growth in India during the past year as the volume of travel using its platform in the country had almost tripled.

“Countries all over the world continue to embrace home sharing, and we are excited that India is at the forefront of this movement,” Airbnb co-founder and CTO Nathan Blecharczyk said on Wednesday.

Listings increase

He added that there were about 17,000 properties listed in India and that the company had registered 115 per cent growth in listings in 2015 over the previous year.

“In terms of travellers (bookings), there has been 185 per cent increase in travellers from India and 184 per cent increase in bookings in India (in-bound) from last year,” Mr Blecharczyk said.

This comes close on the heels of the tourism ministry saying that it will be reviewing the current regulations on home sharing to make it easier for people to rent their places as homestays.

“For countless families, home sharing is an economic lifeline… In a country like India where technology is unlocking new and exciting opportunities, I am thrilled the government is keen to make it easier for locals to be part of the sharing economy,” he added. With half a million Indians having used Airbnb, India is one of the fastest-growing markets for the company.

The company is also eyeing the business travel segment to push growth.

“Already 10 per cent of our global users are business travellers and we have about 30,000 listings dedicated to this segment. These have facilities like 24/7 check-in, high speed Internet and the like,” Mr Blecharczyk said.

The Global Business Travel Association, an industry body, forecasts domestic business travel will hit double digit growth in 2015 and 2016, growing 10.1 per cent and 11.3 per cent respectively.