The changing face of Airbnb’s millennial China influencers – from fashionistas to bloggers, DJs and videographers
Having partnered with big names in Chinese independent fashion, the US home share company has now enlisted a wider range of KOLs – bloggers, artists, DJs – to appeal to young travellers, its key market in China
Whether it is to check out the Northern Lights for Chinese New Year or go on a road trip through the American Midwest, Chinese millennials are known for their taste for adventure.
Another type of adventure tourism is on the rise, though, among China’s affluent twenty- and thirty-somethings, the type that has a traveller forging a deep connection with a stranger – such as visiting a private art gallery in Paris or learning how to forage for truffles in Tuscany.
Such travel is at the core of shared-accommodation platform Airbnb’s global strategy, and nowhere more so than in China, where millennials make up more than half the travel market, according to global travel market research company Phocuswright.
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In fact, Airbnb says, this group accounts for more than 80 per cent of its China market, a higher proportion than in other countries, and their spending power has risen as Airbnb has grown in China.
“It’s great timing,” Airbnb China’s head of marketing Mia Chen says: “Chinese millennials are young, bold, and passionate about learning something new. We are entering an era where the young generation is very open-minded and they want to see more and experience more. They want to be part of the world.”
At the same time, there are aspects of their behaviour that sets them apart. They generally have higher disposable incomes than people their age in other countries, and an insatiable interest in luxury goods.
Shanghai-based fashion buyer and stylist Tera Feng is one such person. Her WeChat feed gives her followers a taste of the whirlwind lifestyle of a woman constantly making appearances at major fashion weeks and sporting the latest trends, from Adidas to Bulgari. Late last year, a Paris Fashion Week visit created an opportune moment for using Airbnb and Feng joined her friend, Chinese designer Angel Chen, in an apartment in the French capital.