On August 20, Jiemian News reported that MeituanThe apartment rental service is now available in over 40 cities in China and is expected to cover the entire country by the end of the year.
Unlike traditional rental platforms, Meituan offersThe service does not limit rentals to a full month. Users can flexibly choose their rental period on a daily basis, for example 45 or 70 days. During their stay, some orders can enjoy a free cleaning service once a week. Upon check-out, users can receive a full refund of the security deposit collected online if the property is undamaged and all associated property fees are paid.
Currently MeituanThe “rental area” of mainly targets the rental needs of users: “medium and short term + move-in with luggage”. As long as the dealer is willing to open and meets the relevant qualifications for rental, this applies to all offers on Meituan‘s platform. Landlords have already uploaded rental information for non-homestay properties in the rental section.
According to insiders, MeituanThe rental service is part of MeituanThe homestay business mainly covers various medium and short-term rental needs such as tourism, postgraduate entrance examinations, business travel projects and health tourism.
Traditional rental platforms like Ziroom mainly focus on long-term rentals. When users check out early, they face issues such as non-refundable deposits in case of breach of contract. There is a huge demand in the market for medium and short-term rentals, but these needs have not been well met. This is because the listings on long-term rental platforms like Ziroom are owned by the platform itself. From a cost and income perspective, the platform prefers long-term rentals to reduce vacancy rates and operating costs. In contrast, Meituan prefers long-term rentals Homestay is a C2C and B2C model. The platform provides information matching, advertising promotion and service guarantees for both landlords (including individuals and institutions) and tenants. The transition from a daily rental model to medium and short-term rental is not difficult.
Meituan Homestay was launched in April 2017. From June 2024, Meituan Homestay has 500,000 active landlords, nearly 2 million online listings and covers more than 3,000 counties and cities across the country. Currently, listings for MeituanThe rental service is mainly operated by private individuals and institutions who rent on a daily basis. Jiemian News learned from MeituanRental Service Customer Service states that individuals who post listings must provide personal identification information and proof of ownership for verification. Units or individuals who sublet more than 10 residential units (rooms) must register as a market enterprise with a business line that includes “apartment rental.”
View of MeituanIn the overall business model of , rental is a business that can evolve or retreat. It can exist as a complementary service to the daily rental of private accommodation or develop into a new business with a high GTV (total transaction volume). Finally, in the field of local life services, medium and long-term rentals are a consumption with a relatively large transaction volume.
An industry expert says that if Meituan As the platform further expands its rental business, it may need to introduce listings from different institutions such as apartment rental companies and real estate brokerage firms. In this way, the platform will face challenges in determining the authenticity of listings and distinguishing between agents and landlords.
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