(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- The head of online hospitalities marketplace operator Airbnb Inc.'s China operations, Ge Hong, will leave the company after a four-month tenure.

The personnel change will affect China's short-term lodging market and Airbnb's operations in the country. Airbnb poached Ge, who was the technical director of Facebook Inc. [NASDAQ:FB], to lead its China team earlier this year. His technical background and experience in China impressed Airbnb.

Nathan Blecharczyk, Airbnb's co-founder and chief strategy officer, will serve as its China head. Aside from bringing more resources from the headquarters, Blecharczyk may change Airbnb's market strategy in China and accelerate the group's development.

Airbnb invited Chinese supermodel Liu Wen to be a 'landlord' in its first Chinese marketing campaign in late 2015, four months after rolling out services in China.

"[For] all things related to our China plan, we are moving extremely slowly, carefully, and deliberately," Chief Financial Officer Laurence Tosi said in December last year.

"Airbnb is smart for not aggressively trying to build a whole inventory in China initially," said Hans Tung, an Airbnb investor with the venture investing firm GGV Capital. "The best approach is to build a loyal community of fans starting with outbound travel."

Brian Chesky, Airbnb's co-founder and chief executive, told Yicai Global about three lessons he learned concerning China.

"The first is to be humble, and not arrogant, about coming to China," Chesky said. "The second is to acknowledge that China is different…and the final thing is, if you are to succeed in China, you have to have a reason you're succeeding. You have to have a strength that you bring, and the strength that Airbnb brings is the global network."

It remains to be seen what Blecharczyk will bring to the Chinese market aside from additional resources and whether Airbnb will readjust its China strategy or give its office in the country greater autonomy.

Blecharczyk will do everything he can to promote the company's development in China and help it continue to ramp up investment in the country, Airbnb told Yicai Global. He will visit China every month and meet with hosts.

Airbnb will expand the technical team of its Beijing office -- the group's only office outside the US with an engineering department -- to employ more than 100 workers, Blecharczyk said previously. Airbnb plans to double its investment in China and triple its workforce, which will help the company re-roll out services targeting some 400 million young people wishing to take self-guided tours, he said.

Airbnb was previously strictly regulated in Europe. The group sent Blecharczyk to communicate with regulators in different countries to outline the benefits of its development on the continent and express the firm's willingness to cooperate with authorities.

Airbnb adopted the same strategy for dealing with the Chinese government. It collaborates with local governments in poverty alleviation programs by helping them develop the tourism industry. Airbnb has sent designers and travel experts to Jinjiang village, an impoverished scenic spot in the Guilin Longji terraced fields, to help locals offer homestay services as part of a trial.

The company has a number of private partners in China including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA] and Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700]. It has connections with investment institutions such as Sequoia Capital China, China Broadband Capital and GGV Capital.

The number of Chinese customers using Airbnb's services grew 287 percent annually in the past year, the company said. Reservations rose nearly threefold from a year ago during this year's National Day holiday.

Airbnb still faces the problems it encountered when it first introduced its services in China such as recruitment, competition with local players and hotels, and issues attracting suitable users.

Blecharczyk's challenge is addressing these problems so that Airbnb can better survive and develop in China, its fastest-growing market.