Airbnb China Head Resigns

Airbnb loses its China business head, Hong Ge, after just four months holding his position in the world's second largest economy.

The head of Airbnb Inc’s China arm has decided to leave the company after just four months into the job.

The announcement was first made via an email to colleagues. Hong Ge said that he was leaving the job to pursue other opportunities.

Airbnb released a short statement regarding Ge’s exit from the company, saying that a successor has not yet been named, but Kim Hong Siew, the company’s regional director for the Asia Pacific region, will take over the position in an interim level.

Siew has worked for the company since 2012, after an almost four-year employment under Yahoo, in which he served as Yahoo’s general counsel for Southeast Asisa.

Through the email, Ge did not give comprehensive reasons for his departure, although he has indicated the company’s breakneck pace when it comes to its expansion it recent months.

“It’s a very tough decision for me to leave behind all of what we have built together. But hey, it’s a small world. I will still be in the Internet industry. I’m sure our paths will cross again in the future,” said Ge.

Ge was a former software engineer at Facebook and Google.

In a separate announcement last week, the company said that co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, who at present serves as chief strategy officer, would take the role as chairman of Airbnb China.

Airbnb’s China Struggle

China has been known for strict and protectionist policies that has put pressure to foreign companies.

Airbnb’s offices have expanded from 30 people to more than 120 in Beijing, while total listings had swelled to 140,000 from 70,000 a year ago. Ge also boasted that his team has reduced instances of fraud from more than 8 percent of gross bookings to less than 2 percent.

However, Ge’s exit highlights the company’s struggle in the world’s second largest economy, which is known for its protectionist laws and fierce competition.

This month, the Chinese government made Airbnb and other home-sharing service providers cancel bookings in Beijing’s center ahead and up to the Communist Party Congress.

Airbnb has long admitted that building a brand in China is vital, given the fact that more and more millennials travel more often now. This year, the company chief executive officer Brian Chesky renamed their service “Aibiying” and promised to double its investment in China.

It now complies with the country’s controversial policy of accessing user’s information.

From 2015, Airbnb had fruitlessly searched for a business chief in China, until Ge was promoted from within the company on June 1 this year. Chesky said that Ge would report directly to him.

“This marks the end of what began as an external search for a China president. As we met with candidates, it became clear that the best person to lead China was already inside our building,” Chesky wrote when Ge was promoted.

China has recently released its third quarter economic report, which showed a robust but slowed down growth from the second quarter.

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