Title

Change is in the Air…Bnb

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

2015

Faculty Sponsor

Samia Islam

Abstract

The emergence of the sharing economy has received mixed reactions – while some believe it is the answer to all the perils of a consumption-driven society, others hold that it has the ability to harm the industries within which they operate. We seek to shed light on a specific topic within this debate. Our research will examine how Airbnb is impacting the local Hotel industry in Boise, specifically how many people are choosing to rent through Airbnb compared to hotels and how much money they are saving, if any. Hotels are large contributors to statewide and local economies because of the amount of people they employ as well as the taxes they pay. Most legislators oppose Airbnb because it seems to take away from the hotel industry and seemingly hurts the local economy, as Airbnb participants do not necessarily pay state tax or tourism tax. Our hypothesis is that although some of the complaints against Airbnb may be justified, it does provide income for some Boise residents and is a cheaper alternative for travelers. By comparing local hotels with Airbnb we hope to show that hotel usage hasn’t dropped, while the use of Airbnb has grown. By getting some firsthand knowledge from Airbnb property owners and renters we would like to see how much money, if any, they are saving by not having to pay state and tourism tax.

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