The Rise of the "Sharing" Economy Share communities, in which people around the world offer for rent things they own, are becoming a bona fide economic phenomenon.
Today's established comfort level with conducting online transactions has opened the door for sharing personal property via the Internet that may have seemed unfathomable even a few short years ago. Companies on- and offline need to understand how to respond, given how many people are interested in participating, both geographically and among all age groups. Most importantly, they need to recognize that, at some point in the not-distant future, if it can be shared, it probably will be shared. The most dramatic effect will be on manufacturers and retailers who make or sell products that are used only occasionally.
Sharing communities are already creating new value and disrupt existing businesses. New companies are springing up to facilitate the process. But long-established companies are not leaving the field to startups. Airbnb.pdf. Airbnb.pdf. 26309_pcw_infographic_en_uk.pdf. Is it too late to fight back against Airbnb? Despite what many have dismissed as a mere blip on the radar, Airbnb is a force to be reckoned with, and we have yet to see just how widely it will impact our livelihoods.
But before we discuss this disruptive company and its effects on the hospitality industry, let’s look at Uber, another disruptor, and how it is changing the way we utilize vehicles for hire. Starting out as a niche taxi service provider reliant on smartphone geolocation technology, it’s now far more than just a trendy accessory for millennials living in San Francisco or Brooklyn.
Founded in 2009, it has already expanded into more than 200 cities across the globe, and it has a $40-billion valuation to boot. Even with an abundance of controversy pertaining to its surplus charges at peak periods or its purported disregard for user privacy, Uber is now a household name across multiple demographics. It is not only a hotel service for backpackers or those looking for esoteric accommodation experiences. Dispelling the myth. Make Money Fast From The New 'Sharing Economy' Do you like to share?
Are you comfortable lending a neighbor your hedge clippers, a friend your pickup truck to move furniture or a coworker your spare room for his visiting cousin? If that’s you, you’re going to love the new sharing economy. Some people believe that it will do to consumer behavior what the iPad did to the world’s computing habits. But there's something even better to be gained from this new sharing economy: money! Birth of a Concept One person may say that the sharing economy has its roots in the early 2000s, when the world began noticing how much “stuff” was consumed and discarded. Others would point to early peer-to-peer file-sharing networks such as Napster that provided a platform for people to share music. Let’s give eBay credit too. If you want to sound smart at parties, throw around the term, “collaborative consumption.”
Instead of owning a boat, a group of people could join a club where they pay a monthly fee to use a boat on certain days. Airbnb vs The Hotel Industry, Who Will Win. As Airbnb, the largest peer-to-peer exchange service for hospitality around the world, continues to grow, the government has taken notice.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman argues that Airbnb rentals should be regulated like hotels and Airbnb providers should be subject to hotel occupancy taxes. Airbnb argues its business model merely connects hosts who rent out their private property to short-term subletters. Though major hotel chains like Marriot, Four Seasons and Hilton insist the primary demographics of their hotel patrons differ vastly from Airbnb's guests, and their revenues have not been affected, in the age of Internet disruption, one might assume the hotel industry has been negatively affected by the rise of Airbnb. Understanding price structure, Airbnb's primary demographic, and a variety of other factors will illuminate the fundamental differences between the hotel industry and Airbnb. (For more, see: Make Money Fast From The New 'Sharing Economy'.)