PandaBed is a holiday home rental marketplace geared specifically towards Asian homeowners and travelers coming to Asia. With growing popularity, it has even been deemed the ‘Airbnb of Asia.’ What makes PandaBed different from other competitors is the ‘PeerMatch’ capability which allows travelers with unique preferences to book a home that is hosted by an owner of a similar cultural background. PandaBed claims that this approach allows cautious travelers to ‘dip their toe in the water.’ Once they feel comfortable, they can better understand the benefits of a sharing economy, both socially and financially.
According to PandaBed Co-Founder,Lester Kang, “When it comes to letting a stranger in your house, Asian homeowners are much more conservative than Western homeowners. They want someone who has a similar cultural background, therefore, shares things in common with them. PeerMatch finds two people with similar interests in crucial things such as religion, and as a result, the feeling of relation from meeting with someone similar to you lessens the guard of the conservative minds. It is like BnB-meets-Match.com methodology.”
Co-founders Lester Kang & James Chua
PandaBed offers accommodations in 9 Asian cities: Bali, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Koh Samui, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Phuket, Seoul and Singapore. There are currently 5000 listings on the platform, and this number is expected to double when the platform is launched in China, Japan, India and Taiwan. Listing a vacation rental on PandaBed is absolutely FREE for homeowners or property managers. PandaBed takes a 10% commission from the booking of the vacation rental which is much lower than standard online travel agency where their commission is between 15%-25%.
We are proud to announce that Payoneer has partnered with PandaBed to offer hosts a simple, quick way to withdraw their funds. Simply sign up for PandaBed (If you haven’t already!), and select the local bank transfer option.
Follow the on screen instructions, and start hosting. When you receive your first payment, you can withdraw your funds at any time to your local bank account, in your local currency! What are you waiting for?