Ascott leads the way with Chinese sharing economy tie-up

While other serviced apartment operators and hospitality companies dither, and in some cases even continue to maintain that Airbnb and its ilk are not a direct threat to their businesses, Ascott has impressively reinforced its progressive credentials, taking the bull by the horns and entering in to a JV with Tujia, known as China’s Airbnb.

The tie-up gives Ascott access to a potentially huge new untapped customer base for its existing brands, and it is also creating a new brand specifically for the Tujia platform. The deal is the latest in a series of canny partnerships Ascott has formed with other ‘best in class’ companies including Samsung, Qatar Investment Authority and Quest Serviced Apartments. If anyone in the serviced apartment sector had any lingering doubts about the relevance of the sharing economy to the industry, this deal should have definitively banished them.