Market Dominance
To fully understand the extent of Airbnb’s effects on the housing market, we can compare the distribution of room types before and after 2019, as in that period, a change was made to include listing options for hotel rooms. This sudden entrance of the hotels demonstrates that it has become more profitable for hotels to be offered as Airbnb listings rather than compete against Airbnb. Although this pattern has started recently, it could be interpreted that Airbnb is beginning to drive the hotel industry into obsolescence. In addition to Airbnb’s contribution to gentrification, these signs of Airbnb dominating the hospitality market is detrimental because of the several differences between Airbnb’s platform and the hotel industry, as due to its platform structure, Airbnb is able to avoid consistency in safety standards to guests as well as some taxes hotels need to pay (Wachsmuth, 2018). Ultimately, Airbnb’s impact on the hospitality industry could further increase the strain on the housing market, as the demand for short-term rentals would increase if hotels become less popular among travelers.
