There are approximately 1 billion cars in the world and only 12 percent of them are used at the same time while the rest sit idle. To better utilize these resources, there comes the idea of the sharing economy. However, analysts say regulations and supervision needs to keep up for the sector to grow healthily.
The sharing economy is now a popular concept in China, and sharing economy service providers are growing fast and raising huge amounts of money. It is now about two years since the model started in China, and professionals say there are bottlenecks for growth, especially about safety when sharing. Shen is the founder of a home sharing service.
"I think the biggest problem is not enough standardization for the industry. Some picky customers worry about sanitation and personal safety," said Shen Zhiqiang, CEO of Mayi Duanzu.
The concerns not only come from customers but also the service providers,
"People renting out their homes worry about tenants breaking or stealing things," said Wagn Liantao, co-founder of Xiaozhu Duanzu.
In the face of these problems, some start-ups are coming up with their own solutions. Some are beginning to help people register their real names on their platforms so that safety can be ensured. Analysts believe home sharing services should hire third-party insurance companies. Costs will increase no doubt, but it might be an investment worth making.