Mich Goh has spent years walking into hostile rooms and walking out with something unexpected: agreement. As Airbnb’s Director of Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, she has learned that fighting regulation with argument rarely works. Listening does.
Eight Countries, Eight Different Problems
Goh oversees policy work across eight APAC markets, and each one wants something different from short-term rentals. In rural Japan, the goal is getting empty homes back into circulation. In Goa, it’s training women hosting in the hinterlands to capture more of the tourism dollars already flowing through the state. “Everyone’s trying to do a slightly different thing,” Goh said. “For me, it’s really trying to figure out what exactly is the government trying to do.”
Her approach sounds simple: listen first, prescribe later. She cites an eight-country study showing that 89% of travelers had already ventured beyond big cities in the past year, with 91% planning to do it again. The demand for regional and rural travel isn’t new. The real question is which destinations are ready to receive it.
Starting With the Question, Not the Answer
When critics push back on short-term rentals, Goh doesn’t walk in defending Airbnb. She asks what’s actually bothering people. “What is the outcome that you’re trying to achieve? What is the problem that you’re trying to solve for?” The tactic sounds almost too simple, but it shapes how she reads the future of travel over the next five years—a shift from checking off landmarks to feeling a place. “It’s not about what you see when you travel to a location,” she said. “It’s about how that place makes you feel.”
That mindset shapes her outreach to regulators and residents alike. Rather than leading with the economic benefits of short-term rentals, she tries to understand what outcome each stakeholder actually wants. If a city is worried about housing affordability, she wants to know whether short-term rentals are actually causing the problem or whether they’re absorbing blame for broader issues. If hotels are concerned about competition, she looks for ways to position hosting as complementary rather than threatening.
The strategy has limits. Goh can’t make regulators care about hosting if they genuinely believe it harms their constituents. But starting with their concerns rather than Airbnb’s talking points creates room for a conversation that might not otherwise happen.
A Room Full of People Who’d Had Enough
The story that stuck with her most didn’t happen in a boardroom. It happened in Putrajaya, Malaysia, at a packed public consultation. Residents, condo management, hotel operators, and a room full of people who’d had enough of short-term rentals showing up in their buildings—all were present. Goh knew within seconds of walking in that the temperature was high.
What she did next, and how it changed the room, is the part worth watching for yourself.