为何Airbnb在中国没有容身之地？

就在最近几日，Airbnb开始了在中国的新一轮推广，其中包括重新命名：爱彼迎。这个欢快的中文名字，含义是“让爱彼此相迎”。在下面这篇文章中，作者分析了Airbnb在中国发展遇到的阻力，并且提到背后的实质问题——屋主和房客之间的信任，发生信任危机，谁来买单？谁来管理？

为何Airbnb在中国没有容身之地？

Why Airbnb won't find a home in China anytime soon

译者：猫咪老师Lancelot 

It's never easy for American businesses to make it in China. Cultural differences, government interference and the sheer cost of competing in a market that dwarfs the US have frustrated companies ranging from Wal-Mart to Uber.

美国公司要想在中国获得成功从来都不是一件易事。文化差异、政府干预以及市场竞争所需要的巨大成本让美国的优势荡然无存，沃尔玛和优步等美国公司对此很是苦恼。

Those stumbles aren't dissuading Airbnb, however. This week the home-sharing pioneer announced that it's changing its local brand name in China and doubling its investment there.但美国房屋共享租赁平台Airbnb并没有因此而打退堂鼓。本周，这家房屋共享业务的开创者宣布修改自己在中国的品牌名，并在中国加大投资。

By any measure, the opportunity is immense. In 2015, Chinese travellers spent nearly $US500 billion, and the government expects that number to more than double by 2020 as the country's middle class expands. But capturing a major piece of that market will require Airbnb to navigate a far more tangled thicket of cultural issues than what confronted Uber and other tech companies in China. And judging by its efforts so far, it probably won't be up to the task.

无论从哪方面来看，中国市场都有着巨大的机会。2015年，中国游客累计消费了5,000亿美元，而据政府预计，随着中国中产阶级比例增加，这个数字到2020年会翻倍。但是要想提高市场占有率，Airbnb要绕开的文化差异可远比优步和其他在中国开展业务的技术公司要多得多，而且就其目前的状况来看，它很可能也不能完成此任。

In theory, China should be one of the world's biggest and best markets for home-sharing. Chinese travellers took 2.2 billion domestic trips in just the first half of 2016, up nearly 10.5 per cent year-on-year. Yet China has only 4 hotel rooms for every 1,000 people, compared to 20 in the US And thanks to China's housing boom, about 50 million empty homes are scattered across the country just waiting (in theory) for paying visitors.

理论上说，中国是全世界最大的房屋共享市场之一，在这里发展房屋共享的条件也是再好不过了。在2016年的上半年，中国共接待国内游客22亿人次，与去年同期相比上升了10.5%。但中国每千人只有4间酒店客房，而美国每千人的客房数量达到了20间。而且由于中国房地产市场的快速增长，全国理论上约有50万间空房正等着游客租赁。

“民宿”

源自日本的 Minshuku，提供住宿与免费早餐的家庭旅馆。

Bed and breakfast

住宿加早餐酒店（英文：Bed and breakfast，缩写：B&B），是一种酒店及旅店的类型，与民宿相似；主要提供床予客人过夜及早餐供应，亦不包括早餐外的其他膳食。B&B多由普通住家的其中一两间客房列作出租用途。顾客对象主要为公路过客、司机及背包客等。

沙发客

Couchsurfing，可译为沙发冲浪、沙发旅行、当沙发客、搜索沙发，是一个旨在帮助旅行者与当地人创建联系的一个国际性非盈利网络。

But that doesn't mean Chinese will jump on the opportunity to rent out their properties or stay in someone else's home. The biggest barrier is establishing trust between owners and renters. In recent years, Chinese consumers have been confronted by scandals ranging from tainted fast food to dodgy pharmaceuticals. They chronically complain of poor-quality goods and misleading marketing or labelling. And they're highly suspicious of small vendors. So renting a room from a stranger advertising on the internet won't come naturally.

但这并不意味着中国人就会因此而将房屋出租，或者租别人的房子。这其中最大的障碍就是要在房主和租客之间建立信任。近几年来，中国消费者遭遇了许多丑闻，快餐污染、药物回扣等等。他们长期以来都对劣质产品和虚假营销牢骚不断，而且对小商家也缺乏信任。因此，他们对陌生人在网上发布的出租广告顾虑重重。

现在，因为Airbnb，有可能在伦敦住上设计师Tom Dixon的水塔

Homeowners, meanwhile, have their own concerns. Many of China's vacant properties are purchased as investments, and most affluent homeowners - especially those with desirable vacation rentals - will hesitate to open their doors to poorer tourists, who constitute most Chinese travellers these days and who would be the most likely to forgo a hotel. That reluctance is only heightened by the near-constant stream of news reports about misbehaviour among Chinese travellers at home and abroad.

与此同时，房主也有着自己的顾虑。中国许多闲置房产都是投资财产，许多有钱的房主，尤其是那些拥有度假公寓的人，会不太愿意将自己的房门向比较穷的游客敞开，然而，这些人现在是中国游客的主力军，他们也更有可能会放弃酒店住房转而租房。但不断有新闻报道中国游客在国内外的不当行为，这只会让房主们更加抗拒将房屋外租。

几年前还可以在Airbnb上租到黑川纪章的“胶囊舱”

Bridging this gap in trust will be difficult. But there's some evidence that local companies - which are more familiar with local customs and concerns - are figuring it out. For example, Tujia.com, China's biggest home-sharing site, takes the ambitious approach of managing each of the 400,000 properties on its site (or hiring a third party to do so).

想要跨过信任上的鸿沟并不容易，而一些对本地风俗和当地人顾虑了如指掌的本地公司正在着手解决这个问题。例如，中国最大的房屋共享网站途家就采取了规模宏大的方法，它准备对网站上40多万套登记住房进行管理（或者找一家第三方机构进行管理）。

That includes hotel-like services, such as housekeeping, as well as conducting due diligence to confirm that listings are accurate. That doesn't just improve the experience for renters; it also expands the number of properties available by giving owners - many of whom live far away from their investments - less upkeep to worry about and more peace of mind.

管理包括提供酒店式服务，比如家务管理，还有对登记房屋进行仔细调查等。这能够提高租客的体验。同样，对于许多房主来说，此举也能减少他们的维护费用，让他们更加安心，从而让更多房主能将自己的房屋出租。

Airbnb, with its paltry 80,000 listings in China, hasn't made any such effort, focusing instead on self-starting younger travellers. Where Tujia arranges for home cleaners, Airbnb's new investments are focused on curated 'experiences,' such as tours of local landmarks, that can be purchased alongside a room. That kind of thing won't be enough to overcome the cultural barriers inhibiting home-sharing in China. And so far, there's little evidence that Airbnb is savvy enough to come up with a more appealing approach.

而Airbnb在中国可供出租的房屋只有80,000多套，它并没有采取此举，相反，Airbnb将目光转向了那些年轻的自由行游客。途家将为登记房屋提供打扫服务，而Airbnb则是将投资用来发展私人导游体验，即租客可以在房东带领下，游览当地景点。可这并不能完全解决阻碍中国房屋共享市场发展的障碍。而且到目前为止，Airbnb好像都不能想出一个更加诱人的点子。

On Wednesday, shortly after the company announced its new Chinese brand name - Aibiying - social media users were widely mocking it as nonsensical and hard to pronounce.

3月22日，公司宣布了其在中国的新品牌名：爱彼迎。而大量社交媒体用户随后便开始吐槽该名称，称其毫无意义，而且发音别扭。

It's not all bad news for Airbnb. China's growing tourism market means that even a niche player focused on adventurous young travellers has a big opportunity. Equally important, outbound travel is growing, and Airbnb's 3 million global listings will remain the best home-sharing option for Chinese who want one, a fact conceded even by its Chinese competitors.

但对于Airbnb来说，并不是一点好消息都没有。中国旅游市场的增长意味着即便是专注于年轻游客的公司也能有巨大的机会。另一方面，出境旅游市场也在增长，Airbnb在全球所拥有的300万套房屋共享出租资源对于寻求租房的中国游客来说仍是最佳选择，这是中国竞争者都无法否认的事实。

When it comes to winning China's local home-sharing market, however, Airbnb should probably check out early.

但Airbnb不大可能在中国国内的房屋共享市场取得成功，还是尽早撤退为妙。

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