2019-02-12 Attachment 1 to Item 7 - Short Term Accom Online Platform Issues Paper

3.3      Growing in popularity - accommodation share economy
Whilst Stayz and Tripadvisor have had a consistent presence in the online short-term
accommodation market during the last decade, Airbnb is relatively new. Airbnb officially launched its
Australian operation in 2012 and has experienced huge success due to its business model and
benefits for property owners and travellers. It is now the most popular online accommodation listing
and booking platform in Australia, with more consumers consistently electing to link or share directly
with providers via Airbnb.

Airbnb charges both participants in a transaction (host and traveller) a commission for each booking.
The business model effectively conceptualises and executes a free market, allowing the ebb and
flow of supply and demand to set prices, rather than prices for accommodation being set in a
traditional hotel or motel setting to ensure overall business profitability.

Property owners are provided a simple and accessible means to maximise utilisation and
monetisation of their homes, with relatively minimal effort depending on the set up. The consistently
growing traffic to the online platform is leveraged by property owners to achieve a new and
supplementary income source. Benefits are offered to tourists through affordability, trendiness,
simplicity of transaction and a peer-to-peer service that may promote a sense of “connection” with
strangers from other places.

The popularity of Airbnb also stems from the provision of a greater diversity of accommodation
opportunities at more affordable pricing for travellers. Airbnb consciously offers greater tourism
affordability by leveraging the location of residential homes and spaces away from the clustered
hotels and motels in areas that are in high demand and are at a premium price.



4.       Negative Affects and Implications of Short-Term
         Letting
4.1      Overtourism and Tourism Gentrification
4.1.1    Overtourism
Overtourism can be defined as the excessive growth of visitors leading to overcrowding in areas
where residents suffer the consequences of temporary and seasonal tourism peaks, enforcing
permanent changes to their lifestyle, access to amenities and general well-being 9. In essence, it is
a level of tourism in a region that exceeds the threshold that a community can appropriately support.
Tourism growth equates to higher revenues, gross regional product (GRP) and stronger economic
activity within a region. Within the Noosa shire, this has benefited the local economy through the
opportunity and uptake of residents earning extra income to generate additional economic activity.
(Survey paper, ACCA Inc.). Airbnb accommodation listings have vastly expanded the supply of
accommodation for visitors to the Noosa region.

However, there is a saturation point where tourism can start to irreparably erode a community, a
region’s social capital, as well as to strain infrastructure and drive up prices. There are many
contributing factors to overtourism, and the commercialisation of the “home share” concept is one
such factor. Overtourism is symptomatic of the approach of the travel and tourism industry, to almost
always focus exclusively on growth, with limited consideration, concern or planning for the impacts.




Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper                               Page 9