Mr. Jun Luo, founder of China’s answer to Airbnb, Tujia, has stepped down from his CEO role at the Ctrip-backed company, although he will continue to act as a director of the company he co-founded in 2011.
Mr. Luo was replaced at the helm of the $1.5 billion online vacation rental platform by Tujia’s COO, Mr. Changle Yang, with immediate effect, according to an internal memo penned by Ctrip chairman James Liang on February 26. The online travel service provider is a major shareholder and partner of Tujia.
The deposed founder will be staying on with Tujia as the CEO of Sweetome, the company’s offline property management spinoff.
According to public information, Mr. Yang joined the Chinese travel site Qunar.com in 2010 and subsequently held a number of senior positions with the travel platform. Qunar.com ended a long period of rivalry with Ctrip in 2015 by agreeing to a share swap and business alliance, which brought the smaller firm under the control of China’s online travel pioneer.
Tujia’s booking volume grew further in 2018 as it reached more than 1.2 million online listings around the world. The company said its daily room nights reached 160,000 last year, the highest in China’s short-term property rental sector.
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