Home away from home

"It's important to get introduced to the market in the right way," says Blecharczyk, who flies to China once a month to meet the company's Chinese team.

"That's why we focus so much on quality and ensure properties meet our standards. Good experience is a function of setting the right expectations for both guests and hosts."

Home-sharing should be viewed as a positive experience that requires trust that grows through word-of-mouth, he believes.

"Safety is always our priority. It's the most foundational way of building trust," he says.

"Over the past decade, numerous reader reviews have given hosts an accumulation of reputation. That's significant because it really breaks the trust barrier and makes it easy to know that you will get what you expect. It's highly reliable."

He's proud that over 90 percent of guests traveling to China in the past year gave five-star (top) reviews, which is above the global average.