Cozystay adds first properties in China with acquisition

China: Cozystay, a vacation rental platform for Chinese travellers, has added its first properties in China after acquiring Oak Properties.

Oak Properties, which will continue to operate under that name, manages around 300 private rentals in China in cities including Taiyuan, Tianjin and Suzhou.

CEO of Vancouver-based Cozystay, Galen Cheng, said: “We’ve had an incredible year of rapid growth, and Cozystay’s reputation has been gaining major recognition with Chinese tourists.
While most of our properties are in North America, we are excited to able to serve customers domestically in China as well.”
Cheng says around 22 percent of properties in that country are vacant and would represent potential income generators for their owners.

Cozystay says that Chinese travellers expect a high level of service from vacation rentals, and Oak Properties fits the bill by offering services such as cleaning and butler service in its accommodations.

Oak Properties co-founder Lixia Guo said: “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.”

In September, Tujia subsidiary Sweetome invested in Cozy Living Suites, a subsidiary of Cozystay which manages vacation rental properties in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and Toronto. Tujia is China’s largest short-term rental property firm.

Cozystay says it has around 60,000 customers and 200,000 listings on its platform, which is available in both the English and Chinese languages. It is also partnering with Singapore-based Share Everything Lab to integrate blockchain into its platform to improve security and transparency.