Exclusive | China’s Airbnb to introduce check-ins using facial recognition
Although the Chinese government has given its blessing to development of the sharing economy, home sharing remains a grey area due to identify verification
With the help of facial recognition technology, China’s biggest home-sharing start-up believes it has the solution to the regulatory uncertainty holding back full development of the industry.
Xiaozhu, China’s answer to Airbnb, will use the peak travel season of Chinese New Year to begin testing smart locks that can be opened by scanning tenants’ faces, which would satisfy laws requiring identify verification.
“As regulation remains unclear, Xiaozhu hopes to use the power of technology to find common ground with authorities. Regulators can wait, but with the pace of technology we can’t,” the company’s chief executive Kelvin Chen said in an interview on the sidelines of the Wuzhen World Internet Conference on Monday.
Facial recognition is seeing rapid development in China as part of the nation’s wider push to become a leader in artificial intelligence, with the technology used in applications ranging from suspect identification in law enforcement to payment authorisation for fast food purchases.
Although the Chinese government has given its blessing to development of the sharing economy, home sharing remains a grey area. Hotels are required by law to register the identity of their lodgers but providers of home-rentals using a password lock can only verify who makes the booking, not who actually stays in the room.
Xiaozhu will start installing the lock system, which was co-developed with Ant Financial, in March or April after initial tests are carried out, said Chen. The move comes a month after the company announced its latest funding round led by Jack Ma-backed Yunfeng Capital, which vaulted Xiaozhu into the ranks of China’s unicorns – private firms valued at US$1 billion or more. Ant Financial is backed by Ma’s Alibaba Group, which owns the South China Morning Post.