Worldwide accommodations leader Airbnb on Monday announced the introduction of 31 new languages, including Hindi, to its interface, doubling the number of languages available on the platform at 62, with an aim at making the platform accessible to over 4 billion native speakers operating the platform as hosts & guests.
Airbnb, founded in 2008, has expanded its listings across 191 countries around the globe and offers over 7 million options for accommodation and 40,000 activities hosted by the local property owners.
The new languages
The new 31 languages introduced by the app in alphabetical order are Albanian (Albania), Armenian (Armenia), Azeri (Azerbaijan), Bosnian (Bosnia), Bulgarian (Bulgaria), Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong SAR), English (Australia), English (Canada), English (United Kingdom), Estonian (Estonia), French (Canada), Georgian (Georgia), Hindi (India), Irish (Ireland), Latvian (Latvia), Lithuanian (Lithuania), Macedonian (North Macedonia), Maltese (Malta), Montenegrin (Montenegro), Romanian (Romania), Serbian (Serbia), Slovak (Slovakia), Slovenian (Slovenia), Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Latin America), Swahili (Africa), Tagalog (the Philippines), Ukrainian (Ukraine), Vietnamese (Vietnam), Xhosa (South Africa) & Zulu (South Africa).
Airbnb in India
The hospitality giant doubled its marketing spending in India in June 2019 after Singapore’s short term-rentals decision was made, restricting the existing rentals. The firm has over 45,000 listings in India alone since its foray in 2016 and currently has over 1.8 million Indian users.
According to a survey released by the firm in July, its direct economic impact in India in FY’18 was around $150 million, with a total estimated guest spending at $120 million. Hosts at Airbnb India welcome a total of 800k guests over the year, with overall earnings of around $120 million
The global policy head at Airbnb Chris Lehane termed India to be in the top-three market for Airbnb and that the firm had been working with the Indian government to promote India’s tourism while encouraging local culture and traditions through its offerings to the travelers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his interactions with Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, made several suggestions, including supporting domestic travel & boosting tourism in Northeast India. The Prime Minister also pushed the firm to focus on skilling the local workforce in adopting tech to enhance travel & tourism revenue.
