1. Airbnb: a new form of
accommodation
The Van Gogh-inspired Airbnb room in Chicago

2. What is it?

Airbnb is an online community marketplace that
connects people looking to rent their homes with
people who are looking for accommodation;

Founded in San Francisco in 2008 as a start-up,
the company has become a worldwide booking
platform;

Today it contributes to the movement of more
than 60 million people in 192 countries.

3. The early days

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia created the initial
concept for AirBed & Breakfast;

During the company's initial stages, the founders
focused on high-profile events where alternative
lodging was scarce;

In March 2009, the name
Airbedandbreakfast.com was shortened to
Airbnb.com, and the site's content had expanded
from air beds and shared spaces to a variety of
properties.

4. And the founders of the website immediately
showed entrepreneurial skills.
Special edition breakfast cereals used to help fund the site

5. The fast growth

February 2011 – Airbnb announced its 1 millionth
booking since its inception in August 2008;

June 2012 - the company announced 10 million
nights booked, doubling business in 5 months;

2013 – nearly 250.000 new properties are added;

2015 – Airbnb is legalized in several important
destinations.

6. 
...a trusted community marketplace for people to
list, discover, and book unique accommodations
around the world;

...a unique travel experience;

...a growing community of users.
Airbnb defines itself as...

7. The identity through the logo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMITXMrrVQU

8. How does it work?

Peer-to-peer accommodation made possible by
the exploitation of Web 2.0 internet technologies;

To book or rent out a space, one must have an
Airbnb profile;

Hosts and guests can chat and ask questions to
each other;

Hosts have the possibility to accept or deny a
reservation;

9. How does it work? (2)

Trust between hosts and guests and online
reputation is fostered through a system based on
reviews, recommendations and ratings;

The system gives an incentive to both parties to
behave in an acceptable manner;

Payments are made through the website and
Airbnb earns revenues for the service offered.

10. Disruptive innovation theory

The DIT outlines a process through which a
disruptive product transforms a market,
sometimes to the point of overcoming previously
dominant companies;

A DP offers a distinct set of benefits...
CHEAPER SIMPLER
MORE CONVENIENT
...but underperforms with regards to the
prevailing products' key performance attributes.

11. Transportation and accommodation have been most
affected by this new economy with Uber and Airbnb
being main players.

12. Airbnb shows the characteristics of a disruptive
product
Classic example of sharing economy, where
individuals rent access to their underused assets.
Its rapid growth, also favoured by an unclear legal
regulation, is threating the traditional tourism
industries, such as hotels, B&Bs and OTAs.

13. New challenges for the lodging industry, local
governments and destination managers

14. Who are Airbnb's largest
competitors?

15. Some examples
Luxury
Cheap holiday
rental
Share for free

16. Family Folio
Work
Folio
Prestige Folio
Explorer
Folio
Target segmentation

17. AUTHENTICITY
PRIVACY
FLEXIBILITY
GOOD QUALITY
CHEAP PRICE
COMFORT

18. Couchsurfing is a global community of 10 million
people in more than 200,000 cities who share their
life, their world, their journey. Couchsurfing connects
travelers with a global network of people willing to
share, making travel a truly social experience.

19. Couchsurfing values
Share your life
Create connection
Offer kindness
Stay curious
Leave it better than you found it
Stay with locals for free all over the world
Give back and open your home to travelers

21. How does Airbnb make
money?

Airbnb charges both its guests and its hosts a fee
for arranging stays;

Hosts are charged 3% of the booking’s value to
cover the cost of things like processing payments
and running the site;

Guests are charged 6-12% depending on the
value of the booking. Guests get the benefit of
24-hour support in return for that charge.

22. Why is it controversial?

In some jurisdictions in which Airbnb is operating, there are
rules about renting out a home in such a way;

Issues concerning taxation;

Other concerns include whether the properties on offer meet
standards of local housing law and regulations...

...and the security risks associated with letting a property.

23. Airbnb Battle

Confusion on regulation has triggered a conflict between
the traditional accommodation services and Airbnb;

In 2014 in New York a new coalition of elected officials
housing groups and community activists, launched the Share
Better campaign to fight illegal hotels;

The Share Better Group for its part, is using Airbnb horror
stories and policy arguments alike to turn public opinion
against the popular site. Here's a video Share Better released
with its launch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EzuzyZS8rM

24. Airbnb Battle (2)

From its side, Airbnb has launched a controversial campaign
in order to improve its position;

It happened in San Francisco in 2015, when the company
has campaigned aggressively to oppose the initiative of the
government, called Proposition F;

Airbnb rolled out ads on bus shelters and billboards around
town, which made suggestions for how different city
departments could spend the $12 million in taxes Airbnb has
paid;

The campaign had a loud and widespread negative reaction,
leading Airbnb to apologize.

26. Airbnb's passive-aggressive ad campaign was able to convince
the San Francisco's voters to reject the initiative.

27. Case history: the Japanese
point of view
Japan is Airbnb’s fastest-growing market in the world
The nation prepares to host the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the
Olympics in 2020.
Tokyo hotel occupancy rates
are tighter than Paris, Hong
Kong and New York ones. The
number visitors will hit 35
millions by 2020.
Source:Skift.com

28. New guidelines
Airbnb avoid Japan’s strict and peculiar seven-decade old rules for hotels,
which dictate everything from the length of reception desks to the color of
pillow cases.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has released guidelines for
home sharing that could make most Airbnb rentals in the country illegal.
Airbnb hosts would only be allowed to rent to guests who stay for a week
or longer, a minuscule slice of the market.
Yasuyuki Tanabe, who runs Airbnb in Japan, said the government should
create new laws specifically for the sharing economy, rather than
employing modified version of old lodging rules.

29. Case History (2)
Airbnb and Florence: the tax agreement
Airbnb and the Italian city of Florence have signed an agreement that
will see the home sharing website pay taxes for each person that
books through its portal to stay in the Tuscan city;
The tax will consist of 2,50 euro per person per night paid directly
upon booking online – and is estimated to bring in around 10 million
euro every year.

30. Advantages
Higher income
Monitor the city
Tourism
Sustainability
Legality
All the operators are treated in the same way.

31. Worldwide examples of
regulations
A map with different examples of short-term rental
laws and events related to the phenomenon.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=zxJWJx4zK9kU.kckkUeNhKjqE

32. Worldwide examples of
regulations (2)
Although this is the first case of an agreement between
Airbnb and an Italian city, similar arrangements are being
discussed around the world:
Denmark's tax minister said recently that the
government was exploring a model for taxing and
legislating Airbnb and other 'sharing economy'
companies;
In the Australian state of New South Wales the state
government is developing a system of regulation for such
services.

33. And in our region?
Lombardy has been the first Italian region to
issue a law on the home sharing phenomenon;
The new regulations classify it as a non-
professional activity;
The hosts have to face less bureaucratic issues
but they still have to communicate the identities
of their guests to the Police Headquarters;
Airbnb Italia expressed its satisfaction with the
initiative, however the lodging industry criticized
it.

34. Thanks for your attention
Elena, Francesco & Nicola
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