Airbnb to start shutting down domestic business in China from July 30

• Airbnb will remove around 150,000 listings in China out of six million it had worldwide

• The decision to exit China was due to cost and complexity needed to operate there

Airbnb Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) on Tuesday formally announced that the vacation rental company would start shutting down all services and listings in mainland China from July 30, joining a long list of Western internet companies that have opted out of the Chinese market.

“We have made the difficult decision to refocus our efforts in China on outbound travel and suspend our homes and Experiences of Hosts in China, starting from July 30, 2022,” Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk wrote on the company’s official WeChat account without explaining the reasons behind the decision.