Preview: Airbnb Backlash

By Peter Maxwell 22 : 08 : 2016 Airbnb : The Sharing Economy : Hospitality

Peer-to-peer accommodation service Airbnb’s rapid growth is causing friction with both local communities and the hotel industry.

Some 42% of US adults that use home-sharing services believe that the properties are not always as appealing as they seem online, according to Pew Research Center
Airbnb’s innovation laboratory Samara is developing services that aim to help local communities and improve the brand’s image

Taking up 5–7% of hotel demand in major US cities in 2015, Airbnb’s disruption of the hospitality market shows no signs of abating. But although more people are using the service, new points of friction are emerging, giving rise to a backlash among local communities and demographics within the brand’s own customer base.

There is a growing feeling that the sharing economy is not the democratic ideal envisaged by Silicon Valley. Research from Harvard Business School reveals that users with ‘distinctively African-American names’ are 16% less likely to be accepted as guests than those with ‘distinctively white names’. New home-sharing services such Innclusive are emerging that cater for groups that feel marginalised by industry leaders, and competitor HomeAway placed Airbnb firmly in its crosshairs with an ad that focuses on the negative aspects of sharing your home with a stranger.