India is One of the Fastest-Growing Markets for Airbnb

The number in India has turned out to be fast-growth for the Airbnb company and decidedly much faster than its core markets. According to Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, the growth rate within such emerging markets as India has now almost doubled that of established markets like the US, Canada, Australia, France, and the UK. 

Speaking in an interview, Bajaj said that Indian guests had booked nights up by over 30% up till the first three quarters of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023. The growth is indicative of India’s rising significance as part of Airbnb’s global expansion process, which has done well in several emerging regions. 

Discussing the opportunities in developing markets, CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky mentioned that although the developing markets still have a lot of headroom for growth, their curves are better than the rest. Speaking on its latest earnings call, Chesky said that Airbnb’s global revenue had improved by 10 percent year-on-year to $3.7 billion for the quarter. He further outlined nine strategic markets, on which Airbnb should focus going forward, such as the Americas-Mexico and Brazil, Europe-Germany, Italy, and Spain-and Asia-South Korea, Japan, India, and China. 

To leverage the growth in India’s travel and hospitality industries, Airbnb will collaborate with Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan for a first-of-its kind experience. Khan will host an intimate wellness and yoga retreat at a time only four guests will be accommodated in Goa. The retreat will take bookings on November 27. Airbnb has now entered into its second celebrity collaboration within six months of succeeding in one with actress Janhvi Kapoor, hosting guests at her Chennai residence earlier in the year. These celebrity partnerships are part of Airbnb’s initiative to raise awareness of its platform and push India’s place as a crucial market in the company’s worldwide growth plans. This way, Airbnb hopes to improve its presence in India and strengthen its position in the wider emerging market segment that continues to show very strong growth potential.