Briefing: Trust issues hold back the Sharing Economy

New research shows that the Sharing Economy in the UK is being held back because of a lack of trust and understanding. A survey by Trust Pilot found that 29% of people have previously avoided using a sharing economy platform because of a lack of clarity on who would hold responsibility when something goes wrong. The survey also found that 42% of people would usually wait until a friend or family member has used a sharing economy scheme before using it themselves.

In these videos our experts discuss the impact of the sharing economy in hospitality:

A separate survey by Veridu also found similar results.  The survey states that ‘A lack of understanding of the Sharing Economy in the UK is impacting growth with 41% of respondents citing this as a reason for not participating.’ Other reasons given for avoiding participation were unwillingness to share possessions with strangers (41%), concerns for personal safety (34%), and worries that possessions would be damaged (29%).

Some Sharing Economy business have grown faster than others, and Airbnb is a clear success story, although it still has hurdles to overcome. Trust Pilot’s survey found that 58% of respondents had used property rental sharing economy services (e.g. Airbnb) whereas only 28% of people has used private car loan services or car sharing schemes (e.g. Zipcar).

With word of mouth remaining such a strong driver of growth, trust is sure to keep growing over time and emerging Sharing Economy business will continue to present competition to more traditional business.

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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.

Briefing: Digital innovation improves customer targeting

According to Forrester, by 2020, 47% of Western European advertising spend will come from digital advertising. This kind of advertising allows for very specific targeting of customers. There is a great advantage to knowing who you are reaching and why, and knowing your customers well enough to be able to implement a targeted strategy. According to Forbes, 84% of companies are expecting to increase investment in audience targeting.

Our experts discuss the power that comes from digital and data use:

Whilst digital advertising is increasingly popular, research from Forrester points out that this may be less effective for older age groups who are less likely to consume these ads.  So targeted campaigns for this group may require a different tack.

The Forbes report “Reaching the Right Audience: How Brands Are Using Audience Targeting in Digital Advertising”, which was published in May 2015, found that; “90% of companies spend at least 25% of their digital advertising budgets on specific targets, and 43% of companies spend more than half of their budgets reaching specific targets.”

The report also shows that there is increasing use of digital video campaigns, and that 46% of the companies that use these are careful to validate that they reach the right audience.

Social media sites including, Twitter and Facebook offer ways to make ads that are posted on their sites targeted, and as discussed in a previous briefing, Google has developed hospitality specific ways to improve advertising reach.

Companies will continue to find new and effective ways to reach the right customers. Research from Gartner found that 71% of Marketers have an ‘innovation budget’, whilst Digital Commerce, Social, Marketing Analytics and Customer Experience, were the top-ranked Areas of investment for marketing technology in 2015.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

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.

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.

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

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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