Airbnb has shuttered its Russian subsidiary in a bid to simplify the company’s operating structure across the globe.
The company has decided that it was “easier” to conduct operations through their offices in Berlin, Dublin and London, said company spokesperson Yekaterina Kukureko. “Therefore, there was no reason to keep the Russian subsidiary open.”
“We remain committed to the Russian market and have a team dedicated to driving our business forward in the region. As a fast moving business with over 3 million listings in more than 191 countries we regularly review the location of our offices to best reflect the changing needs of our business,” she added in an exchange with East-West Digital News.
Airbnb opened its Russian subsidiary in February 2012, taking care of adapting its service to local conditions (see EWDN’s interview with the company’s co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk).
The company’s physical office in Moscow was closed as early as 2015 as part of a rationalization program, Kukureko reminded. This program included the merger of the Moscow and the Berlin offices, while the Copenhagen office was to be merged with the UK office.
Local legal constraints
According to industry insiders interviewed by Kommersant, a major business daily, local legal constraints may have influenced the company’s decision to close the Russian subsidiary. In particular, Airbnb might be seeking to avoid being requested to provide user data to the Russian tax authorities.
The US company might also be concerned about new legal requirements related to cash payments. According to this legislation, which will come into force on July 1 this year, cash payment data will be passed to tax authorities via online cash registers. These requirements apply to most categories of retail outlets and service providers.
“If Airbnb closes its subsidiary in Russia, then all the money and data will be stored abroad, which puts constraints to the abilities of Russian authorities,” an unnamed source told Kommersant.
