U.S. short-term rental service Airbnb Inc has removed listings in Beijing as the capital prepares to host Party Congress this month, the most important event on China’s political calendar during which security is at its highest.
A search on Wednesday of Airbnb listings in the city’s center yielded “zero” results for all of October. Listings were present as recently as Tuesday evening for periods including the congress dates of October 18 to 31.
“Due to external circumstances, homes in certain areas in Beijing are unavailable through October 31,” Airbnb said in an email.
“EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES”
Four Airbnb hosts in the capital said they had received notices from the U.S. firm late on Tuesday, which said properties in certain areas of the city would be removed from its website until the end of the month due to “external circumstances”.
“Similar to action taken by other hospitality companies, Airbnb listings in certain areas in Beijing will be temporarily unavailable throughout October,” said the company in a statement.
Short-term rentals were also unavailable during the same period via local services Xiaozhu.com and Tujia.com. Neither firm responded to requests for comment.