Home-sharing company Xiaozhu has launched China's first shared-house service for business travelers, driven by the increase in startups and the changing structure of the workforce.
Established in 2012, Xiaozhu is one of the first Chinese home-sharing platforms and has around 150,000 shared-house sources in 306 cities in China.
"We will provide about 80,000 homes for business trips in over 50 cities by the end of this year, starting from Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu," said the company's CEO Chen Chi.
Rooms for business travelers, priced at 300 to 400 yuan ($44 to $58), are equipped with office supplies and an invoice is promised to be provided within 11 working days.
Another new service designed for business travelers is monthly settlement and company accounts, but the company admitted it needs the support of a stronger IT system. When asked about the reason to start such a new product, Chen said "last year, more than 15% of our users chose our service for business trips".
Chen said the service initially targeted young employees in startups and SMEs, but some large enterprises have also showed an interest.
So far, a dozen internet companies, maker spaces and co-working offices have signed cooperation agreements with Xiaozhu.
As young people born in 1990s become the major part of the labor force and with the growth of startups, business trip demand is becoming more diversified and personalized, he said.
His goal is to team up with 5,000 corporates and serve 100,000 users within this year.
Home-sharing company Xiaozhu has launched China's first shared-house service for business travelers, driven by the increase in startups and the changing structure of the workforce.
Chen said the service initially targeted young employees in startups and SMEs, but some large enterprises have also showed an interest.
