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

Sarah Daiin BeijingandMeng Jing
Kelvin Chen, founder and CEO of Xiaozhu, is discussing partnerships with Alibaba and its affiliates. Photo: Simon Song

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.

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