Future of Airbnb and the 'Sharing Economy' : The Collaborative Consumption of Our Cities

This book deconstructs the ‘sharing’ marketing narratives surrounding Airbnb and similar platforms. It provides a conceptual analysis of the ‘sharing economy’ and accommodation sector and furthers the ongoing discussion surrounding Airbnb and the social sustainability of city tourism. The volume analyses the touristification of neighbourhoods in the context of broader economic and ideological shifts, thus bridging the gap between academic and social debate. It presents four different city scenarios of potential future developments and evaluates the effects of different regulatory responses, giving readers an understanding of the forces and factors at work and envisioning the ultimate consequences of current developments. The book will appeal to students and researchers in tourism and hospitality studies, futures studies and urban planning, as well as to policymakers and strategists in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

Jeroen A. Oskam is professor of Strategic Foresight and director of the Research Centre of Hotelschool The Hague (Amsterdam and The Hague, the Netherlands). His research focuses on the future of hospitality, with recent scenario studies on topics as OTAs, urban vacation rentals, post-Covid recovery and digitization of tourism SMEs. His latest books are Innovation in Hospitality Education: Anticipating the Educational Needs of a Changing Profession (Springer, 2018), The Future of Airbnb and the 'Sharing Economy':  The Collaborative Consumption of our Cities (Channel View Publications, 2019) and The Overtourism Debate: NIMBY, Nuisance, Commodification (Emerald, 2020).