Tujia has well-furnished villas of different styles in scenic spots. Photo provided to China Daily

Luo Jun, founder and CEO of Tujia.com, says the market for online short rental websites in the US is mature, but there is still a long road ahead for the Chinese market. For example, prices are very sensitive and the industry has no set standards.

Founded in 2011, Tujia.com offers apartments and villas at different price levels in about 170 domestic and 180 overseas destinations.

"It's difficult to promote the service in China if online short-term rentals don't offer proper offline services," Luo says.

He says Tujia.com offers professional property management, ranging from decoration, amenities to a 24-hour call center and reception.

Besides individual owners, they are cooperating with Chinese real estate developers and are in charge of a certain amount of houses or villas in one community.

"It's a good trade. Homeowners can live in it when they want to, and get the rent revenue when they are away. They can also swap lodgings with each other, using the days that the property is not rented out," he says.

According to Luo, they've signed contracts with 500,000 apartments and villas, some of which are being renovated, and are in negotiation with 900,000 more.

"It costs a lot of money to build a fancy hotel and takes a long time to recover the cost. We only sign one-year contracts, and if there is no tenant, we don't have any overheads," he says.