airbnb
Airbnb plans ‘hanok’ category as K-wave continues sweeping the globe
- Airbnb wants to add “hanok,” a type of traditional Korean house built using environmentally friendly materials, to its new “Airbnb Categories,” Global Head of Housing Catherine Powell told Yonhap News Agency last week.
- “We know that the Hanoks that we have on the platform are very popular. We can't confirm yet, but would love it to be a category like how we did with ryokan," Powell said.
- The recent plan came after Airbnb rolled out a major update on its online platform in May with the introduction of “Airbnb Categories.”
- Powell noted that searches conducted by international guests on the platform for Korea rose by around 150% from the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of this year, while domestic travel and bookings saw an increase of over 180% from the second quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of this year.
- “I'm excited because there is so much opportunity here in South Korea,” Powell said. “They talk about the K-wave, and you can see how engaged people are with the culture. So we will continue to do more with pop culture and with traditional culture."
Airbnb has proposed a plan to add traditional Korean houses called “hanok” as a new category as the Korean wave, or K-wave, continues to sweep the globe.
Global Head of Housing Catherine Powell spoke to Yonhap News Agency (YNA) last week, revealing the company’s plan to add hanok to its “Airbnb Categories.” The move is similar to the online platform’s addition of ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn.
Airbnb hosts with ‘distinctively Asian names’ received fewer bookings during pandemic years, study shows
- The rise of anti-Asian hate amid the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 resulted in fewer bookings for Asian American hosts on Airbnb, a Harvard study published on Aug. 3 suggested.
- The study, titled “Scapegoating and Discrimination in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Airbnb,” was based on New York City data sourced from the website Inside Airbnb.
- Researchers found that Airbnb hosts with “distinctively Asian names” encountered a 12 percent decrease in guests compared to hosts with “White-sounding names” after January 2020.
- The study posits that the ability to view the names and profile photos of hosts on the online house-sharing platform made it “easier for users to discriminate.”
- In response to the new study, Airbnb stated that “measuring race based on name does not paint a full or accurate picture. Many hosts who would identify as Asian may not have ‘distinctively Asian names’ and therefore would not be included in the analysis.”
The rise of anti-Asian hate amid the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 has resulted in fewer bookings for Asian American hosts on Airbnb, as suggested by a recent study.
The new Harvard University study, titled “Scapegoating and Discrimination in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Airbnb,” revealed that Asian American hosts on the online home-sharing platform received fewer bookings than hosts of other ethnic backgrounds in the year anti-Asian sentiment was on the rise.
Elderly Asian Airbnb Owner Slapped After Telling Group to Leave in Chicago
A video showing an elderly Asian man being slapped across the face as he hands some money back to a young man and his friends staying at his Airbnb in Chicago has been circulating on social media.
The footage, first posted on Dec. 7 at 10 p.m., shows an elderly Asian man handing some cash back to a group of friends before being slapped by one of them.
‘F*cking Asian’: Instagram ‘Influencer’ Accused of Racism in Clash With Airbnb Host
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with a statement from an Airbnb spokesman.
An Airbnb host took to Instagram to expose a guest who allegedly retaliated with racism after being asked to pay $50 in fines for violating a no-pets-allowed policy.
Japanese Man Allegedly Kills Girlfriend in San Jose Airbnb
A Japanese man is facing life imprisonment over the alleged murder of his girlfriend at an Airbnb property in San Jose, California.
Ryoichi Fuseya, 25, was arrested on Feb. 19, a day after his girlfriend, Yuiko Takaoka, 26, was found lifeless at the rental cottage on Mountain View Avenue in East Foothills, a neighborhood in San Jose, Calif.
Taiwanese Student Nearly Ends Up HOMELESS After AirBnB Cancels Booking Over Coronavirus Fears
A Taiwanese student was almost left homeless after landing in the U.K. and finding out that her Airbnb booking had been canceled over fears that she might be carrying the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or COVID-19).
Louise Hsin-Yuan Peng, 31, was looking forward to good accommodations when she arrived in the U.K. on Feb. 1 to work on a three-month research project.
Seoul Now Has AirBnB Experiences That Teach You How to Sing and Dance Like a K-Pop Idol
Those who have enmeshed themselves in the K-pop world long before BTS and BLACKPINK set milestones in the international music scene would by now be familiar with the rich diversity the genre has to offer.
Over time, in ideal conditions, a K-pop act develops his/her/their own unique style, either by building upon a core concept (think TWICE, SEVENTEEN, Red Velvet and the Orange Caramel) or experimenting with fresh elements to set a new trend (cue NCT, GOT7, f(x) and SHINee).
Racist Airbnb Host Calls Black Men ‘Monkeys’ and ‘Criminals’
An unbelievably racist Airbnb host has been removed from the home-sharing platform after a video of her exhibiting prejudice against a group of Black guests in New York City emerged online.
In the video, which has gone viral on social media, the female host is shown arguing with Meshach Cisero and his friends over their lodging arrangements.
Chinese Woman Discovers Hidden Camera and Motion Sensors in Airbnb, Host Gets Fined $74
A woman in eastern China abruptly foiled an Airbnb “Superhost’s” plan to secretly film her stay thanks to her impressive detective work.
The woman, identified only as Yunfei, arrived at the Airbnb flat in Qingdao, Shandong province on Wednesday night, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
12 Breathtaking Airbnb’s Across Asia For Anyone In Desperate Need of a Nature Retreat
Being surrounded by technology 24 hours a day, 7 days a week can get unbelievably draining after a while. We’ve all been there — whether it’s work or school, waking up to the sound of urgent notifications going off one after the other is truly one of the most stress-inducing things ever.
So if you’re looking for a bit of rest and relaxation plus a detox from the hectic speed of city life, here are 12 gorgeous options with breathtaking views. Why not book a spontaneous vacation? Just call it self-care.
Woman Shares Nightmare Experience on Airbnb With Stalker Guest
A female Airbnb host was subjected to days of stalking and harassment by a guest she allegedly kicked out for tampering through her belongings and stealing cash.
Alavia Khawaja, who began renting out a spare bedroom in her apartment, shared her nightmare ordeal on Twitter.
Chinese Tourists Leave Japanese Airbnb in Gross Mess, Say ‘This isn’t my home’
A trio of female Chinese university students sparked outrage on social media after leaving the Airbnb apartment they rented in Japan in complete chaos.
As seen in photos shared by their host, piles of trash, dirty utensils and misplaced objects became the aftermath of the five-day rent from Sept. 5-10.
