Tourism Airbnb to convert akiya into tourist lodgings

Airbnb, which operates a platform to match travelers with hosts offering lodging, does not intend to acquire empty houses or subsidize renovations. Rather, it is working with other businesses and local governments to encourage owners of empty homes to convert them into tourist accommodations. [...] Of particular interest to Airbnb are traditional folk houses, known as kominka, which appeal to foreign tourists seeking authentic experiences. This year, Airbnb donated 150 million JPY (USD 1 million) to the Japan Kominka Association, which seeks to preserve such dwellings. [...] As part of partnership formed last year with Japan's Ryohin Keikaku, owner of lifestyle brand retailer Muji, Airbnb is also looking to find lodgers for a more than 100-year-old private house in Chiba prefecture that Ryohin Keikaku renovated.

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thomas said:

Private lodging operator Airbnb is looking for ways to house travellers in the growing number of homes left empty in Japan as the population declines, its manager for the country told Nikkei Asia. According to an official survey, the number of unused houses (空き家 akiya) has almost doubled during the past two decades, to nearly 3.5 million in 2018. As the population of the world's third-largest economy ages, that figure is expected to reach 4.7 million in 2030. The government says these unused houses could cause security and sanitary problems as they decay.

Paywall alert:

Airbnb looks to convert Japan's empty homes into tourist lodgings

Search for space intensifies as weak yen spurs surge in foreign visitors

asia.nikkei.com

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nice gaijin said:

Right on cue:

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Chinese buyers were the biggest source of foreign capital into the residential real estate market through the year ending in March 2023, NAR said in a recent report, with buyers spending $13.6 billion on US residential properties in the period. That's more than double the total amount spent in the prior year, with Chinese buyers spending $6.1 billion on home purchases in the period ending March 2022.

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