The tourism sharing economy and its wider implications. This page contains a number of articles and links to materials which discuss some of the direct and indirect impacts and implication of the rapidly emerging home sharing/sharing economy within tourism. Its content may be particularly useful to those destinations now wresting with the issues locally.
We submitted evidence to Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality industry APPG inquiry during 2016. After a delay caused by the 2017 General Election the inquiry reconvened to take oral evidence in February 2018. An interim report was then published in March 2018: 2018 APPG for Tourism- sharing economy interim report followed by a final report in July 2018: 2018 APPG for Tourism- Sharing Economy Report (Final)
House of Commons library briefing document, The growth of short-term lettings (England) give a useful summary of the position as at Sep 2018: https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-8395
The Corporate Europe Observatory, a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the disproportionate influence that corporations and their lobbyists exert over EU policy-making also released a report in 2018. Although obviously biased towards their own prospective it makes interesting reading: 2018 unfairbnb
Recent and relevant older articles:
12 Jun 24 – Brisbane to introduce Airbnb permits for property owners amid housing crisis crackdown
26 May 2024 – Airbnb and Booking.com allowing illegal social housing sublets, say English councils
8 Nov 23 – What happened to Airbnb?
29 Jun 22 – Airbnb permanently bans parties and events around the world
21 June 22 –Second home ban planned for Brighton and Hove
14 Jun 22 – Whitby votes to limit sales of second homes
14 Jan 22 – Gove closes tax loophole on second homes
4 Jan 22 – Second home and holiday-let in rural communities (Westminster debating pack)
5 Oct 21- Figures reveal half of Keswick’s properties are holiday lets or second homes
6 Sep 21 – England sees ‘boom’ in second homes flipped to holiday lets
Undated – Second homes in Cornwall 2021 Cornwall Council briefing document
15 Jun 21 – Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go
14 Feb 21 – Airbnb owners caught ignoring travel ban to let out holiday homes
6 Jan 21 – Amazon prices rise as Chinese sellers’ VAT loophole is closed
13 Dec 20 – $100 billion valuation! The epic rise of Airbnb: Can this stock keep climbing?
10 Dec 20 – Airbnb soars to near $100bn valuation as shares more than double in IPO
7 Dec 20 – Airbnb raises share pricing range before IPO on Thursday
8 Oct 20 – Airbnb tax grab: Thousands of hosts come under HMRC’s glare following company probe
20 Aug 20 – Airbnb bans all house parties worldwide
19 Aug 20 – Airbnb puts stock market float back on the table
18 Aug 20 – Oxford City Council wins fight over short-term let house
9 Aug 20 – Airbnb ‘made mistakes and needs to change’ says founder and the original subscription access article from the Sunday Times Magazine: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: “It felt like everything was breaking …
1 Jul 2020 – UK competition watchdog seeks to curb Google and Facebook’s dominance of online advertising
12 May 20 – Airbnb extends ban on UK bookings until next week
5 May 20 – A Message from Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky
9 Apr 20 – Coronavirus: Airbnb restricts UK bookings to coronavirus key workers
4 Apr 20 – How the Covid-19 crisis locked Airbnb out of its own homes
3 Mar 2020 – Why you’re paying too much for your hotel
21 Feb 2020 – Airbnb expansion in the UK is ‘out of control’ politicians warn.
29 Feb 2020 – One in four short-term lets ‘is illegal’
9 Feb 2020 – Has Airbnb grown a conscience?
24 Jan 2020 – Nissan plant in Sunderland to supply electric cars for taxi firm Uber
22 Jan 2020 – One in 50’ London homes potentially used as short-term let
13 Jan 2020 – Licensing expert warns of ‘flood’ of short-term let licences
8 Jan 2020 – Scotland launches crackdown on Airbnb short-term lets
4 Jan 2020 – Airbnb’s new software can tell if a guest might trash your house
19 Dec 2019 – European Court of Justice rules for Airbnb in suit over legal status
5 Dec 2019 – Airbnb: Misbehaving guests, open-invite parties to be banned (USA)
12 Nov 2019 – Liverpool considers restrictions on Airbnbs
6 Nov 2019 – Airbnb will verify listings, 11 years after launch
– Airbnb intends to verify all listings following shooting and scam report
2 Nov 2019 – Airbnb bans ‘party houses’ after five die in Halloween shooting (USA).
1 Nov 2019 – ‘Hideous Airbnb’ owner in Sleaford to fight planning decision
28 Oct 2019 – Majority backing for controls on Scots short-term lets
22 Oct 2019 – Airbnb probed by UK tax authorities
26 Sep 2019 – Airbnb (in Western Australia) faces new clampdown in push to regulate short-stay accommodation
24 Sep 2019 – Airbnb shares proposals for short term let regulation in Scotland and Airbnb’s submission can be accessed here.
24 Sep 2019 – Airbnb to work with UK cities on host registration proposals
19 Sep 2019 – Airbnb announces it will go public next year after WeWork delays IPO
5 Sep 2019 – Are Airbnb investors destroying Europe’s cultural capitals?
4 Sep 2019 – Portland (Oregon) Reaches Rental Data S-haring Agreement With Airbnb
2 Sep 2019 – Airbnb ‘superhost’ barred over rules breach
2 Sep 2019 – Single mum puts backseat of car on AirBnB for £8 a night
2 Sep 2019 – Cheapest Airbnb in the UK is a one-person tent in someone’s backyard
31 Aug 2019 – Airbnb party houses stir up trouble for elegant Bath
31 Aug 2019 – Getting AIRBNB Change of use planning permission– an extensive guide August 2019 update
15 Aug 2019 – Skye housing association tenants warned over tourist sub-letting
6 Aug 2019 – Safety fears over unregulated Edinburgh lets
4 Aug 2019 – Investigation: how Airbnb has been hijacked by agencies making a huge profit
29 Jul 2019 – Airbnb host who sub-let council flat to repay £100,000
24 Jul 19 – Why Is Airbnb Still Missing the Mark With Corporate Event Planners?
20 Jul 2019 – Top Cities Where Airbnb Is Legal or Illegal
12 Jul 2019 – AIRBNB to show full price for accommodation upfront after EU crackdown
2 Jul 2019 – European Cities Fear They’ll Lose Power to Regulate Airbnb
25 Jun 2019 – Airbnb vs. Hotels: What’s the Difference?
24 May 2019 – ‘Only one room left’: Why hotel booking sites can’t be trusted
20 May 2019 – Manchester considers tougher regulation of flat-share websites
20 May 2019 – Airbnb users getting scammed with fake rentals, account closures
20 May 2019 – This Tourism Company Trying To Save Venice From Tourists
16 May 2019 – TripAdvisor Modified Its Approach to Reviews and Sexual Assault. Did It Go Far Enough?
5 May 2019 – How Airbnb took over the world
30 Apr 2019 – EU governments cannot regulate Airbnb without asking Brussels, says ECJ
26 Apr 2019 – Thousands of ‘fake’ reviews removed from Amazon: it’s not enough
25 April 2019 – What the Airbnb surge means for UK cities
26 March 2019 – Airbnb Has a Hidden-Camera Problem
13 Mar 2019 – Airbnb Loses Major Fight Over California City’s Rental Law
12 Mar 2019 – Association seeks ban on OTA ‘brandjacking’
25 Feb 2019 – London firms helping landlords break letting laws
23 Feb 2019 – Inside the Rise and Fall of a Multimillion-Dollar Airbnb Scheme
11 Feb 2019 – Airbnb development: moving towards end-to-end travel platform
10 Feb 2019 – Paris seeks $14 million from Airbnb for illegal adverts
6 Feb 2019 – UK Agency Addresses Misleading OTA Sales Tactics
18 Jan 2019: Exposed: Airbnb lobbying to stop laws on lets
10 Dec 2018 – Many of Berlin’s Airbnb hosts face fines
3 Dec 2018 – Mike Ashley calls for 20% tax on online sales
29 Oct 2018 – Tech giants face digital services tax
12 Sep 2018 TripAdvisor clamps down on fake reviews as it’s revealed some companies PAY for ratings
30 Aug 2018 – What Airbnb really does to a neighbourhood
17 Aug 2018 -(Irish) Housing Minister plans clampdown on short-term lets amid housing and rental crisis
16 Aug 2018 – Worlds first Airbnb sanction scheme aims to expose rogue landlords
14 Aug 2018 – Row sparked over Airbnb rentals during Edinburgh Fringe Festival as thousands of visitors descend on capital city
9 Aug 2018 – Airbnb hits back at ‘shameless’ Bristol hotel boss for ‘smear’ (see 29 June article)
7 Aug 2018 – NY mayor signs into law new crackdown on Airbnb
18 Jul 2018 – New law forces Airbnb to open its books to New York authorities
14 Jul 2018 – AirBnB lets may be unsafe, MPs warn
14 Jul 2018 – Council backs calls for Airbnb crackdown and controls on other short term house lets in Bath
9 Jul 2018 – Hosts across UK impact government’s Rent-a-Room relief scheme
29 Jun 2018 – Bristol hoteliers take on ‘dangerous’ AirBnB
15 Jun 2018 – Tourism pollution’: Japanese crackdown costs Airbnb $10m
8 Jun 2018 – How the world is going to war with Airbnb
6 Jun 2018 – Airbnb culls Japan listings ahead of new rental law
31 May 2018 – Landlords will be hit with crackdown to limit Airbnb rentals -Irish News
21 May 2018 – Airbnb sail into a storm in New York
18 May 2018 – Airbnb to report homeowners’ income to Danish tax authorities
9 May 2018 – Adios Airbnb: Valencia bans rentals
27 Apr 2018 – What does the ban on Airbnb-style rentals in Palma mean for the Balearics?
15 Apr 2018 – Growth in short-term-let market raises fire concerns
19 Mar 2018 – 2018 APPG for Tourism- sharing economy interim report
14 Mar 18 – HMRC takes aim at eBay and Airbnb – but how much tax do you have to pay on sales?
19 Jan 2018 – Airbnb cuts half of San Francisco listings as new laws kick in
9 Nov 2017 The world’s most prolific Airbnb owner has 881 properties in London and earns £11.9m a year
5 Sep 2017 – Can buy-to-let investors get more by Airbnbing their properties?
13 Aug 2017 – Half of landlords in one London borough fail to declare rental income (an HMO issue but indicative of taxation issues?)
9 Aug 2017- Spain’s Balearic Islands to fine illegal tourist rentals
27 Apr 2017 – Stop moaning about Airbnb, tourism chief tells hotels
5-Jan 2017 – Airbnb threat to hotels double what was forecast last year
25 Nov 2016 – British Destination APPG inquiry sharing economy narrative comment
14 Nov 2016 – Morgan Stanley: Airbnb’s Threat to Hotels Is Only Getting Sharper
3 Nov 2016 – Sadiq Khan warns crackdown on Airbnb rentals in London
27 Oct 2016 – Major home-sharing platform finally acknowledges the registration of
activity as the step forward to enforce housing rules
and sharing-economy-hotrec-policy-chart-2015
7 Jun 2016 – The Airbnb pitfalls that could end up costing you thousands
25 Feb 2016 – Four ways hotels can better compete against Airbnb
13 Jan 2016 – BHA boss slams ‘dangerous’ Airbnb
7 Mar 2016 – The Impact of AirBnb on Hotel and Hospitality Industry
11 Nov 2015 – Premier Inn boss slams ‘unregulated’ Airbnb
29 Jan 2015 Airbnb is about to start collecting hotel taxes in more major cities, including Washington
05 Jan 2015 – Hotel industry predictions for 2015
20-Oct-2014 – Government urged to protect short-term accommodation customers
15-Sep-2014 – PwC predicts further hotel growth in 2015
15-May-2014 – Concerns grow over Airbnb ‘threat’
17-Jan-2014 – Airbnb does not pose major threat to hotels, say experts
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British Destinations