Cozystay, a
vacation rental platform serving Chinese travelers, has added its first properties
in China with the acquisition of Oak Properties.
Oak Properties, which will
continue to operate under that name, manages about 300 private rentals in China
in cities including Taiyuan, Tianjin and Suzhou.
“We’ve had an incredible year of
rapid growth, and Cozystay’s reputation has been gaining major recognition with
Chinese tourists,” says Galen Cheng, CEO of Vancouver, Canada-based Cozystay.
“While most of our properties
are in North America, we are excited to able to serve customers domestically in
China as well.”
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Cheng says about 22% of properties in that country are vacant and could be income-generators for their owners.
Cozystay says Chinese travelers expect a high level of
service from vacation rentals, and Oak Properties has met that need by offering
services such as cleaning and butler service in its accommodations.
“Non-hotels are becoming increasingly popular, and we have
differentiated by offering higher levels of service to the guests, which they
appreciate and which Cozystay also recognizes and delivers to their guests,” says
Lixia Guo, co-founder of Oak Properties.
In September, Tujia subsidiary Sweetome invested in Cozy
Living Suites, a subsidiary of Cozystay that manages vacation rental properties
in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and Toronto. Tujia is China’s biggest
short-term property rental firm.
Cozystay says it has about 60,000 customers and 200,000
listings on its platform, which is available in both English and Chinese. It is
also partnering with Singapore-based Share Everything Lab to integrate
blockchain into its platform to improve security and transparency.