The following article provides an overview of the successes and developments of the community marketplace Airbnb, as well as problems and solutions that have arisen in connection with the portal.

The community marketplace Airbnb, where both private and commercial landlords can offer accommodation, was founded in 2008 in California's Silicon Valley. By 2018, Airbnb claims to have hosted more than 300 million guests in 81,000 cities and 191 countries. The company is a successful example of the sharing economy. This collective term covers companies, platforms and practices that enable the shared use of various resources. The following article provides an overview of Airbnb's successes and developments, as well as problems and solutions that have arisen in connection with the portal.

The success of Airbnb

Airbnb owes its success to several factors. Firstly, the company was founded during the economic crisis that hit the US in 2007/2008. The resulting financial problems forced many people to be more careful with their holiday budgets. Airbnb was a welcome solution, as it offered the opportunity to rent accommodation at cheaper prices or to earn extra money by renting out their own home. From the start, the company also focused on accommodation in cities, which proved to be an effective strategy in the era of booming city tourism and cheap flights.Another reason for the success of the platform is the flexibility of renting. Arrivals and departures are possible on any day of the week and accommodation can be rented for as little as one night. In addition, the interaction with the hosts and the special experiences are important factors for many users. Direct contact with the locals and accommodation away from the usual tourist areas make for a more authentic holiday experience. Airbnb has also been able to develop a well-functioning rating system that is accepted by guests and hosts alike and creates mutual trust.

Developments at Airbnb

Over the years, the company has grown from a niche provider to a comprehensive portal, competing with traditional online booking platforms. Both tourists and business travellers can find the right accommodation for their trip.The number of hotels and hotel chains bookable on the portal is constantly increasing. For this reason, the company announced in 2018 that it would make it easier for such providers to publish their ads. Airbnb Plus was launched specifically for the business travel and luxury segments. It offers hotel standards at a lower price and a loyalty program. Benefits for loyal customers include airport pick-up or a direct hotline to Airbnb. In addition, Airbnb recently launched Airbnb Adventures, which offers multi-day adventure trips with transportation and meals. On these trips, groups of up to 12 people are guided by local experts to special places and sights.

Airbnb is also experimenting with virtual and augmented reality. New features will be developed to make accommodations virtually walkable and provide guests with assistance before and during their trip. For example, landlords will be able to create digital notes or instructions that show how certain appliances in the homework. Work is also underway to continuously improve the 'matching algorithm'. The aim is to provide users with personalised results that meet their needs even faster.

The company's brand expansion also includes products that are increasingly moving away from its core business. For example, an in-house design studio called Samara has been set up in the small Japanese town of Yoshino. The Backyard project will bring together design and sharing economy experts to develop new concepts for Airbnb homes. Airbnb plans to enter the construction business before the end of 2019.

Problems and solutions

Most of the countries in which Airbnb operates are not legally prepared for this new economic model. Examples include the lack of regulations on taxes and fees, or housing shortages in cities with high rents and scarce housing supply. It is proving difficult to implement universal solutions because of the wide variation in municipal policies, laws and structures. For these reasons, many cities have already proposed or implemented their own solutions.

• In Berlin, a ban on misuse has been introduced. The aim of the regulation is to increase the availability of housing for city residents, which is why second homes can only be rented out as holiday homes for a maximum of 90 days per year. The law came into force in 2014 and was tightened up in 2018. In addition, hosts are now required to display a registration number, keep records of rentals and report them once a year.
• A reporting requirement for booking platforms and a registration requirement for landlords are planned across Austria to ensure greater tax fairness. Airbnb and similar platforms will be obliged to report all bookings and revenues to the authorities.
• The city of Vienna also wants to ensure more transparency through legislation. Since 2013, private landlords are also obliged to collect local taxes. Portal operators will therefore be obliged to hand over data on landlords in order to be able to collect this tourist tax correctly. Vienna negotiated with Airbnb at the end of 2018 and demanded the disclosure of landlord data, but so far the company has not responded to the request.
• Despite the complicated legal and tax situation, Sweden shows that Airbnb can also be used as an opportunity. In cooperation with Visit Sweden, the official portal for Sweden, the whole country has been made available through Airbnb. There is no need to book official accommodation. Thanks to the Everyman's Right (Allemansrätt in Swedish), you can hike, cycle, do other outdoor activities and camp anywhere. Private gardens, cultivated fields and places near residential buildings are excluded from this rule. This means that any public place can become a potential shelter. Jenny Kaiser, Country Manager at Visit Sweden USA, says: "Sweden has everything to offer, from high mountains to deep forests, from picturesque archipelagos to quiet meadows full of wild flowers. Now, together with Airbnb, we invite visitors from all over the world to discover our beautiful nature with Everyman's Right. The cooperation will serve to promote Sweden as a travel destination and showcase exceptional places.

Conclusion

Airbnb has managed to adapt its business model to the needs of travelers and trends in the travel industry to become a successful platform. Many developments are planned for the future to broaden the company's offering and appeal to new audiences. At the same time, in the absence of legislation, new solutions are needed to regulate the use of Airbnb accommodation in cities. There are already examples of how this sharing economy model can be managed and how the platform can be used as an opportunity for tourism.