Bullish on India, will continue to invest in the market: Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk

Online accommodation hosting platform Airbnb is bullish on India, which has emerged as one of its fastest growing countries last year, and the company will continue to invest here, according to its co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk.

The company, which has introduced its new 'Airbnb Rooms' category with over 50 new features, is hopeful that it would be able to help overseas travellers unfamiliar with India to discover the country and drive growth in cross-border travel through its platform.

"India is important to us because it represents a huge potential, the largest country (population) in the world, huge growing middle class, and also over the last year we've seen it to be one of our fastest growing countries," Blecharczyk told PTI in an interview.

While it is still early days as there are still a lot of people learning about Airbnb for the first time in India and a lot of people have not used it, he said, "But we do see the rate of growth being very fast. We think it's a very promising country for Airbnb and we'll continue to invest there."

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He cited the example of the company setting up its own office in the capital along with the new technology hub in Bengaluru and said, "These are all symbols of our bullishness regarding India and Airbnb in India."

Blecharczyk, however, did not elaborate on future investment plans for India.

Airbnb was launched in India in 2016 and it currently offers unique accommodation options such as homestays, private rooms, and villas in over 100 cities.

Compared to North America and Europe, the adoption of Airbnb, which started operations 15 years ago, is a "few years behind" in Asia, he said.

"Airbnb has less of a tenure in Asia than it does elsewhere. That being said, when we look at the growth trajectory, we see it being very promising. Even though our time here in Asia, in India, is less, I think the long term prospects, the level of adoption are incredibly exciting," Blecharczyk added.

On why Airbnb is bullish on India, Blecharczyk said, "Cross border travel is increasing quite a bit in India. It is not number one in the world for cross border travel, not even close, but if you look at the population demographics, if you look at the growth in the middle-class, India is going to be a powerhouse when it comes to tourism."

He said the company is also looking forward to working with the central and state governments to grow tourism in the country.

"It's really not just a story about Airbnb's growth in India. It's also a story about the growth of tourism in India broadly," he said.

When asked about the company's performance in India after the pandemic, he said there has been a strong growth.

"India has been a success story. We've been able to adapt really well. We saw that the number of nights booked in India grew 70 per cent in 2022, relative to 2019...Domestic nights booked in India were 110 per cent (higher) relative to before the pandemic," Blecharczyk said.

He further said, "What this says is that over the course of the pandemic, although Indians might not have been able to go abroad, and international travellers were not able to come to India, people were travelling all across the country using Airbnb."

As per the company's findings, at the end of 2022, women hosts made up about 30 per cent of its India Host community and those hosts who 'self-identify as women' collectively earned over Rs 100 crore in 2022.

Women hosts over 60 years of age on Airbnb in India collectively earned more than Rs 20 crore in 2022, while private room hosts in India collectively earned over Rs 100 crore.

Nights stayed in private room listings in India also grew by over 80 per cent in 2022 when compared with 2021.

On the other hand, family travel on Airbnb in India was up over 90 per cent in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic. Airbnb Hosts in India collectively made over Rs 100 crore from bookings with families last year.

"India is a huge country with so many awesome destinations offering everything from beaches, national parks to culture and I think Airbnb really did kind of come into its own over this period and grow," Blecharczyk said.

He also said the new features that Airbnb is introducing on its platform could further drive growth here.

"In a country like India, I think these investments make a ton of sense, and probably are disproportionately valuable in a country like India relative to a smaller country that doesn't have the same amount of geography and richness of variety of experience...," Blecharczyk added.

He further said, "The cross border travel isn't as big as it could be (in India). So, we should play a unique role as a global platform, showcasing all that India has to offer. I think that's very strategic for us and also for our government partners or various tourism firms that we partner with in India."

Some of the enhancements that Airbnb is making on the functionality of its platform based on its community feedback will help address the "pent up hunger to connect with new people" not just in India but around the world amid concerns about inflation and affordability, Blecharczyk said.