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Airbnb on Monday stopped displaying listings from hosts in Japan that had not obtained permission to operate, as a law in the country for private home-sharing, known as minpaku, is slated to take effect next week. As of spring, more than 62,000 properties in Japan were available on the website of the world's largest home-share operator. The number has since plummeted nearly 80% to about 13,800. Airbnb's move may prompt other home-share operators to follow suit. According to Hollywis, a vacation rental research company, the number of Airbnb hosts started to decline a short time ago as many decided to stop offering their properties due to cumbersome regulations. As of May 11, only 724 hosts had registered, according to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, despite registration having begun in March. Airbnb, which has rapidly grown since its 2013 launch in Japan, now must rethink its revenue model due to a significant decrease in the number of properties listed. In addition to privates homes, Airbnb lists hotels and Japanese inns, and has also started accepting reservations for experience tours. Read original article |
