BU Today: Airbnb Not Hurting Boston Hotel Sector
A recent analysis of Airbnb in Boston by School of Hospitality Administration faculty members found that the sharing economy platform doesn’t seem to be negatively impacting the regions hotel market. In fact, similar to Uber and Lyft does for the taxi and limousine industry, Airbnb is helping to expand the lodging market.
BU Today recently interviewed the faculty authors, Dr. Tarik Dogru, Dr. Makarand Mody, and Dr. Courtney Suess-Raeisinafchi. Their full analysis can be found on the Boston Hospitality Review.
Understanding what’s happening here is important because “the sharing economy isn’t just accommodations,” says Suess-Raeisinafchi. “It could be the sharing economy for cars, if you’re renting your personal vehicle out, instead of just Uber. I play polo, and we’ve got a sharing economy of horses now, thanks to an app. You can connect with your fellow members where you can lease horses and organize transportation. We’ve got sharing economy with fashion, where you can rent each other’s wardrobes. That’s going to disrupt the fashion market.…It’s all new.” Read more.