Over the last few years, the sharing economy has grown substantially with new high-profile businesses emerging. Especially Airbnb became an integral part of the accommodation industry and disrupted traditional hotel and Bed and Breakfast businesses.
However, at present, Airbnb has to face many controversies due to consumer safety, regulatory and tax evasion issues. As regulators and legislators established laws and regulations with the traditional economy in mind, they are not suited for the sharing economy and application often remains uncertain, especially in the area of taxation. Consequently, the difficulty of establishing an effective regulatory framework for the sharing economy is receiving considerable attention currently.
Therefore, this thesis aims to identify some of the challenges that will be of concern to regulators when developing a regulatory framework and outlines some guiding principles for regulating Airbnb. Finally, this thesis finds that a self-regulatory approach could be the most effective solution to encounter the difficulties and controversy.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 The Sharing Economy Landscape
1.1 Definition
1.2 The Emergence of the Sharing Economy
1.3 Forms of Appearance
1.3.1 Product Services Systems: Access over Ownership
1.3.2 Redistribution Markets: Recycling 2.0
1.3.3 Collaborative Lifestyles: Bundling of Intangible Resources
1.4 People Participating
1.5 Key Drivers for Participating
1.5.1 Sustainability
1.5.2 Enjoyment
1.5.3 Reputation
1.5.4 Economic Benefits
1.6 Downsides of the Sharing Economy
1.6.1 The Distributive Implications
1.6.2 Poor Conditions for Workers in the Sharing Economy
1.7 Future Prospects
2 Airbnb – An Example of Collaborative Consumption
2.1 Background
2.2 Facts and Figures
2.3 The Business Model of Airbnb
2.3.1 How the Platform Works
2.3.2 Business Model Canvas
2.3.3 Restructuring the Traditional Value Chain and Operating Model
2.4 Airbnb’s Impacts
2.4.1 Economic Impacts
2.4.2 Social Impacts
2.4.3 Consumer and Public Safety Impacts
3 Airbnb’s Controversy Regarding Taxation and Regulation
3.1 Regulatory and Fiscal Issues
3.2 Airbnb’s Approach
3.3 Regulatory Responses
4 Discussion about Regulating the Short-term Rental Market
4.1 Regulatory Challenges
4.2 Principles for Regulating Airbnb
4.3 Self-Regulatory Approaches
4.3.1 Self-Regulation and Self-Regulatory Organizations
4.3.2 Recommendation for Successful Self-Regulation
4. Conclusion
Research Objective and Core Topics
This thesis examines the regulatory challenges posed by the rise of the sharing economy, specifically focusing on the short-term rental platform Airbnb. It aims to identify the difficulties regulators face when applying traditional legal frameworks to this new industry and outlines guiding principles for effective regulation, ultimately proposing a self-regulatory approach as a viable solution.
- The landscape and emergence of the sharing economy.
- Airbnb's business model and its disruption of the traditional accommodation industry.
- Taxation and regulatory controversies surrounding short-term rental platforms.
- Challenges in balancing consumer protection with innovation and market growth.
- Analysis of self-regulatory frameworks as a potential policy solution.
Excerpt from the Book
1.3.1 Product Services Systems: Access over Ownership
For many years, our economy was marked by unprecedented consumption, overdrawing our planet’s resources while businesses had to struggle with rising raw material costs, enhancing carbon emissions, pollution and waste. However, in the last time, people’s attitude towards consumerism has shifted. An increasingly ecological awareness and the desire for a sustainable lifestyle lead to the concept of consumption without ownership, and is adopted by more and more people (Earley 2014).
In addition, the new so-called millennial generation is more cost-conscious post-recession, striving for experiences and entertainment rather than possessions. Instead of reclusive ownership, they prefer to pay to access the benefit of a product. Eventually, we are interested in washing our clothes or mow the lawn – washing machines and lawn movers merely serve as a means to an end and therefore only are of secondary interest. As a result of this altered consumption patterns, our economy has become increasingly marked by dematerialization and we can observe a progressive service orientation (Stampfl 2011).
Due to these new trends, some companies started connecting their products with services in order to make them more attractive for their customers and thereby set themselves apart from competitors. Plus, this service is no longer just considered as an accessory for the product to increase its sales opportunities, but vice versa: the service becomes the core of the offer. Like this, savvy businesses emerged, with companies providing access to products including cars (Zipcar), toys (Dim Dom), clothes (GirlMeetsDress, Kleiderkreisel) as well as films (Netflix), without the burden of ownership responsibility (Earley 2014).
Chapter Summary
1 The Sharing Economy Landscape: Provides an overview of the sharing economy's origins, key definitions, and its main sectors like product service systems and collaborative lifestyles.
2 Airbnb – An Example of Collaborative Consumption: Introduces Airbnb as a case study, detailing its business model through the Business Model Canvas and analyzing its economic and social impacts.
3 Airbnb’s Controversy Regarding Taxation and Regulation: Examines the regulatory and fiscal disputes involving Airbnb, including tax evasion accusations and different government responses worldwide.
4 Discussion about Regulating the Short-term Rental Market: Analyzes the challenges of regulating this new market and proposes self-regulatory and co-regulatory principles as effective alternatives to restrictive bans.
4. Conclusion: Summarizes the key findings and reiterates that a tailored, self-regulatory approach involving the platform itself is the most effective way to balance growth and regulation.
Keywords
Sharing economy, Collaborative consumption, Airbnb, Regulatory framework, Self-regulation, Taxation, Accommodation industry, Business model, Peer-to-peer, Digital platforms, Market regulation, Sustainability, Innovation, Consumer protection, Short-term rental.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The thesis investigates the regulatory and taxation controversies triggered by the sharing economy, specifically focusing on Airbnb, and explores how governments can develop effective policy frameworks.
What are the core thematic areas discussed in the work?
The work covers the definitions and drivers of the sharing economy, the business model of Airbnb, the impact on traditional industries, and the challenges of implementing legal regulations.
What is the central research question?
The research seeks to identify the challenges regulators face in the sharing economy and asks how an effective regulatory framework can be designed to balance market growth with public interest.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author employs a qualitative analysis of current industry reports, academic literature, and case studies of cities like New York, San Francisco, and Berlin to evaluate various regulatory approaches.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section analyzes the growth of the sharing economy, provides a deep dive into Airbnb’s business model using the Business Model Canvas, and evaluates the success and failure of city-level regulations.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include sharing economy, collaborative consumption, regulatory framework, self-regulation, taxation, and Airbnb.
How does Airbnb’s business model differ from traditional hotel chains?
Unlike traditional hotels that own inventory, Airbnb operates as a platform-based intermediary, creating value by connecting travelers with private hosts who rent out underutilized resources.
Why are traditional regulations often ineffective for the sharing economy?
Traditional laws were designed for large-scale professional entities; they are often too rigid and costly for individual, non-professional hosts, leading to barriers to entry and potential market failures.
What does the author propose as the most effective regulatory solution?
The author argues for a self-regulatory approach where the platform (Airbnb) actively participates in the design and enforcement of standards and collects taxes on behalf of its users.
- Quote paper
- Julia Maurer (Author), 2016, Sharing Economy. Regulatory Approaches for Combating Airbnb's Controversy Regarding Taxation and Regulation, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/322300
