On November 21, 2014, Tujia.com Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. announced that it had been awarded the 2014 “Red Herring Global 100.” This award recognizes the most forward-thinking and influential technology companies and entrepreneurs globally for the year, bringing them to the world stage. The winning companies are carefully selected from over 1,000 nominees across more than 50 countries by the editorial team of Red Herring magazine, showcasing the most innovative technologies and business models. Tujia.com (www.tujia.com) receiving this honor demonstrates that its vacation rental business model—based on the broader trend of the sharing economy—and its rapid, steady development have gained full recognition from authoritative global institutions.
Red Herring is a renowned American investment and business magazine targeting entrepreneurs, investors, and industry observers in the technology field, providing them with the latest and most timely global market insights. With a unique perspective and profound insight, it reports on and analyzes technological innovation, financial strategies, industry trends, as well as the companies and entrepreneurs that will play significant roles in driving and transforming global economic development. The Red Herring Global 100 has become a mark of promising new companies and startups. Many well-known companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Skype, YouTube, as well as domestic giants like Alibaba and Baidu, have received this honor. These companies are now profoundly changing our lives and work, and Red Herring was among the first to recognize their potential.
Tujia.com is a leading high-quality vacation rental booking platform in China. Through its innovative “O2O + B2C” model, it seamlessly integrates real estate services at tourist destinations with service apartment leasing, offering a new solution for the management of real estate assets in China. At the same time, Tujia.com builds a trustworthy, flexible, and transparent e-commerce platform between travelers and property owners, providing tourists with standardized, cost-effective new options for vacation accommodation. Focusing on the vacation rental business, Tujia.com currently covers 154 domestic destinations and 69 overseas destinations, with over 110,000 properties listed online.
Innovation and high growth are two key factors that Red Herring prioritizes when selecting companies. As the only sharing economy model company from Mainland China to be selected, Tujia.com has, since its inception, taken the mission of “increasing the value of real estate and creating better travel accommodation experiences for people.” Since its launch on December 1, 2011, Tujia.com completed its Series A and B financing rounds totaling 400 million RMB within 400 days of establishment, and secured Series C funding of 100 million USD within 800 days. Its growth rate has drawn significant attention from the industry. Tujia.com has now signed contracts for over 500,000 properties and established strategic partnerships with 72 government agencies. In terms of user experience, over 96.7% of users choose to “recommend to family and friends or stay again” after their stay.
“Selecting the most promising companies is no small feat,” said Alex Vieux, Publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “After rigorous consideration and discussion, we selected 100 from thousands of candidates worldwide. We believe Tujia embodies the vision, drive, and innovation that define a successful startup. Tujia should be proud of its achievements.”
Regarding this recognition as a Red Herring Global 100 company, Luo Jun, Co-founder and CEO of Tujia.com, stated: “This is not only an affirmation of Tujia but also recognition of the vast potential of China’s vacation rental industry. We hope to lead the rapid growth of the vacation rental sector. To achieve this goal, Tujia will enhance the ecosystem of vacation rentals, especially by continuously improving the user experience, so that more users can enjoy distinctive vacation accommodation experiences sooner.”