Airbnb Extends Beijing Suspension to May to Fight Virus Outbreak

(Bloomberg) -- Airbnb Inc. has extended a freeze on all Beijing business by two months, heeding tightened local regulations aimed at curbing the coronavirus epidemic.

It’s now suspending check-ins at all of its listings in the Chinese capital until April 30, instead of the end of February, the San Francisco-based company said in a messaged statement. The U.S. startup has offered refunds to those affected or that cancel their bookings.

Airbnb counts on China’s growing middle class to deliver a large portion of its future growth. Health authorities there are trying to gauge whether the world’s largest known quarantine effort has been effective in containing the pneumonia-causing virus in central Hubei province, a landlocked region of 60 million people. But infections are rising elsewhere in the country, and Beijing is one of its most popular tourist destinations.

It’s not yet clear whether others in the home-sharing industry, including Trip.com Group Ltd.-backed Tujia, will follow suit. Xiaozhu said this week it will shut down all rentals in Beijing for February and issue full refunds for existing bookings while also waiving landlord commission fees. In its mobile app, Trip.com said “some” apartment bookings in Beijing for the month have been suspended and recommended users turn to hotels instead.

“In accordance with the guidance from local authorities for the short term rental industry during this public health emergency, bookings of all listings in Beijing with check-in from 7 February 2020 to 30 April 2020 have been suspended,” Airbnb said in its statement Wednesday. “This measure is based on official guidance that applies to all companies in the short term rental industry operating in Beijing.”

Read more: Airbnb Freezes Beijing Check-Ins Till March to Curb Virus

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Zheping Huang in Hong Kong at zhuang245@bloomberg.net;Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Edwin Chan, Vlad Savov

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