Airbnb planning a deeper push in China

Home-sharing startup Airbnb is gearing up for a deeper push into the booming market of Chinese travelers.

Airbnb has forged a partnership with investment firms Sequoia China and China Broadband Capital, which contributed to a $1.5 billion investment this summer, to find a chief executive officer for its China operations and widen its foothold in the world's most populous country.

"The last year and a half has really seen us dipping our toes in the water, learning about the culture, trying to even validate, 'Would the Chinese people even want to use Airbnb?'" Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky said in an interview at the startup's San Francisco headquarters. "Now we are getting really serious."