Briefing: How the world is adapting to the sharing economy

Airbnb has met a need on both the consumer and host side of its business model. It is up to date with the latest technology, and has even recently created an app for the Apple Watch. But regulation of this, and similar sharing economy business, has been an ongoing discussion. A trade body for sharing of economy businesses was started in the UK last year, and in January the New South Wales government in Australia, announced plans for a new regulatory framework for businesses like Airbnb.

In these videos an Airbnb executive and three hospitality experts discuss the success and future of Airbnb:

Tourism Accommodation Australia has announced strong support for new regulations to be created in New South Wales. They have emphasised that the, “’Collaborative’ economy must be about ‘contributing’ to the economy.” Airbnb offers 15,000 listings in New South Wales.

In the UK, according to Airbnb, 52,500 hosts shared their homes in the past year. The typical host earned £2,000 by sharing their homes for 46 nights a year.

Last year in the UK a law was passed making it easier for people to share homes. Also in March 2015, the trade body, Sharing Economy UK was launched following the recommendation of the Wosskow 7 Report, a Government-commissioned independent review.  SEUK has a code of conduct that members must sign up to, which according to the website, “was designed to enhance the operation, image and reputation of the sharing economy industry.”

A recent report on the SEUK website highlights statistics that show the growth of the sharing economy in the UK:

  • The number of businesses with no employees has risen by more than 70% since 2000.
  • 3% of the UK workforce is providing a service through a sharing economy platform.
  • A quarter of the UK population has engaged in a sharing economy activity.

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Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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