短租網站滲透古巴

古巴自從冷戰，遭到美國禁運，兩國之間幾乎不相往來。 美國總統歐巴馬卻在去年宣布外交解凍，瞬間解放了壓抑幾十年的商機。 短租網站龍頭Airbnb 率先推出古巴當地房源，一舉搶得頭香。 然而，在網路資源貧瘠，信用卡不普及的古巴到底要怎麼做生意？一起來從這篇報導中找線索。

進入文章前，先想想這些字怎麼說。

a)  參訪核可

b)  迂迴

c)   開拓性

How do you do e-commerce in a country where only 5% of the population has unfiltered access to the Internet? That's the question many curious tourists and tour operators tried to figure out when Airbnb announced recently that it's taking orders for accommodation in Cuba. Ever since the Missile Crisis in 1962, Cuba has been a virtual no-go zone for the average American. From movies and rare a) visits sanctioned by the government, people were able to see that this is a communist state frozen in time, with vintage cars roaming the street and old buildings 1) basking in the tropical sun.

在一個只有5%人口可以自由上網的國家，要怎麼做電子交易？這是Airbnb最近宣布接受古巴地區訂房消息傳出後，許多好奇的觀光客和旅遊業者腦中都浮現出來的疑問。 自從1962年飛彈危機以來，古巴對於一般美國人來說幾乎是生人勿近，只有從電影和少數政府核可的參訪當中，人們得以認識到古巴是個彷彿凝結在時光中的共產國家，老爺車在街上悠然來去，古老建築物沐浴在熱帶艷陽下。

The laid-back atmosphere 2) bestowed a unique charmon the island nation in the eyes of western travelers. Even before the thaw in diplomatic relations with Washington, the so-called "casas particulares", self-employed bed and breakfast hosts legalized by the Cuban authorities, had opened up to foreign customers in the 90's. Lacking the Internet connectivity themselves, the B&B hosts used middlemen to advertise their services online, creating yellow-page like lodging directories catering specifically to Cuba-bound tourists.

慵懶的氛圍讓這個島國在西方遊客的眼中充滿了獨特魅力。 事實上早在與華府關係改善之前，古巴政府核可的個體戶民宿就從90年代開始接待外國顧客。由於本身缺乏網路連線能力，這些民宿業者都是透過中間人來刊登網路廣告，不少類似黃頁的古巴住宿網路名錄也就因運而生。

Tapping into this primitive infrastructure of e-commerce, Airbnb 3) gained an early foothold in the Cuban market by striking deals with these internet-ready middlemen. The company spent a lot of time and energy tutoring these intermediaries on how to use the Airbnb website, to polish up ads with digital photographs, and to keep the availability status up-to-date. While the middleman-reliant arrangement sounds b) convoluted, the transfer of payments is equally if not more devious, sometimes involving hiring people to hand-deliver cash to hosts.

利用這個原始的電子商務模式，Airbnb藉由與中間人洽談合作，取得了進佔古巴市場先機。Airbnb投注大量時間人力教導這些中間商使用短租網站，用數位影像來替廣告增色，並隨時更新空房狀態。如果說這樣迂迴的商業模式聽起來複雜，那麼金流的處理就更麻煩了，有時候甚至要請人親手把現金交給民宿業者。

What prompted Airbnb to c) trail-blaze in this virgin territory may be the increasingly 4) pent-up demand for a more intimate understanding of a former political arch rival. With the trade embargo still not lifted, thus preventing US hotel chains from crossing the border, the online room-sharing service is getting a head start on its competitors.

Airbnb之所以身先士卒投入這塊未開發市場，或許是嗅到不斷積壓的潛在需求，許多人渴望親身造訪這個過去勢不兩立的政治宿敵。由於貿易制裁仍未解除，美國連鎖飯店無法進入古巴，線上短租業者也因此得以搶先一步。

口語詞彙

1)    Bask in 曬太陽

Bask 這個字本身就是取暖，曬太陽的意思。 沐浴在什麼樣的氛圍可以用bask in。

Tourists like to bask in the afternoon sun at the beach. 遊客們喜愛沉浸於午後的陽光海灘旁。

2)    Bestow on 贈與，花時間..在

Bestow 有贈與，給予之意，介係詞可以用 on。花時間在.. 事情上也可以用 bestow on。

He bestowed much time on this project。他把大量時間花在這個計劃上。

3)    Gain a foothold 佔得先機，取得立足點

Foothold 是據點，立足處的意思， gain a foothold 直譯就是取得先機，立足點。

With their spectacular performances lately, Taiwanese pitchers are gaining a foothold in the Major League Baseball. 由於近期表現亮眼，台籍投手已經取得在大聯盟的穩固地位。

4)    Pent up 壓抑

Pent 是被幽禁，抑制的意思。Pent up 多半指情感上的被壓抑，如pent up emotions 壓抑情緒。She has been pet up in this office for over a year. 她在這辦公室已被壓抑一年多。

參考資料：fastcompany.com

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