Airbnb to triple China staff, change name

US short-term rental giant Airbnb will triple its China staff this year as it targets the country’s millennial consumers, its chief executive said on Wednesday, Reuters reports, even as the firm faces competition from local rivals. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said China was a key market for the firm to achieve its global ambitions. He was talking at an event in Shanghai to launch the brand’s Chinese name “Aibiying,” literally “welcome each other with love.” “Chinese millennials, they are a huge market – nearly half a billion people, 400 million Chinese millennials and they represent 80% of our business here in China,” he said. The firm, valued at $30 billion in a round of fundraising last year, has seen strong growth from Chinese tourists, with outbound travelers from the country staying at its properties globally growing 142% last year, the firm said.