Within 24 hours, two announcements regarding the future of accommodation rental platforms, each claiming to be Airbnb’s rival, have been made, hospitality-on.com reports in the following article:
The first originates from Berlin, where the head office announced that the company’s activities would be closed as of January 1, 2019. Wimdu had managed to raise $90 million to expand but was facing “significant financial and commercial challenges” according to the release.
Wimdu sought to be Airbnb’s European rival and had received many investments to promote its growth. For example, believing in the self-proclaimed “Airbnb killer”, Rocket Internet and AB Kinnevik had put more than $90 million into it.
The European start-up indicated that trips with a check-in date this year could be taken; the others would be cancelled.
In the press release, Wimdu GmbH states: “Facing significant financial and business challenges, Wimdu will cease operating by the end of 2018. The company counts 100 employees located in Berlin and Lisbon.”
The second announcement comes from Beijing where Xiaozhu, which offers private accommodations for rent and services to landlords to improve their housing, has entered into discussions to raise $200 million. Among the potential investors, Singapore’s sovereign fund would be on board. Xiaozhu.com’s current investors include Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, as well as Legend Capital, Morningside Venture Capital, MSA Capital and Capital Today.
At a time when Europe is attempting to expand its network of digital companies in order to compete with the Californian giants, China is successfully building strong rivals: Alibaba and Huawei now have several hundred thousand customers and can compete with Amazon and Motorola. In the hotel industry, advances in artificial intelligence are notable in China and could eventually become one of the keys to group development.
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