Airbnb: disruptive innovation and the rise of an informal tourism accommodation sector.

TLDR: In this paper, the authors explore the emergence of Airbnb, a company whose website permits ordinary people to rent out their residences as tourist accommodation, and examine its rise through the lens of disruptive innovation theory, which describes how products that lack in traditionally favored attributes but offer alternative benefits can, over time, transform a market and capture mainstream consumers.

Abstract: This article explores the emergence of Airbnb, a company whose website permits ordinary people to rent out their residences as tourist accommodation. The company was just recently established, but it has grown extremely rapidly and is now selling many millions of room nights annually. This rise is examined through the lens of disruptive innovation theory, which describes how products that lack in traditionally favoured attributes but offer alternative benefits can, over time, transform a market and capture mainstream consumers. The concepts of disruptive innovation are used to consider Airbnb's novel business model, which is built around modern internet technologies, and Airbnb's distinct appeal, which centres on cost-savings, household amenities, and the potential for more authentic local experiences. Despite Airbnb's growing popularity, many Airbnb rentals are actually illegal due to short-term rental regulations. These legality issues and their corresponding tax concerns are discussed, with an overview...