Emergence of Peer-to-Peer Accommodation Sharing in Bangkok

The Case of Airbnb and Implications for Housing Market Distortion

Abstract

The growth of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation sharing platforms, including Airbnb, has increased rent in the rental housing market in many tourism cities worldwide. Airbnb is also one of the biggest P2P accommodation sharing platforms in Bangkok. There were 38,249 Airbnb listings in 2019 in Bangkok, with an annual average increase of 34% from 2015–2019. On the other hand, many people in Bangkok still struggle with housing affordability and rental housing is one solution. To date, however, there has not been a study on the effect of Airbnb on the rental housing market.

This research aimed to investigate an emerging situation and reveal the actual characteristics of P2P accommodation in Bangkok. The results suggested the following: (1) The growth of all Airbnb listings included an increase in inactive listings, which accounted for 47.4% of all listings in 2019; (2) Apartments and condominiums are the main property types listed, representing 72.1% of all listings; (3) The presence of active Airbnb listings is a small fraction (1.7%) of rental housing in Bangkok overall. Moreover, Airbnb listings tend to be concentrated in the Inner Bangkok of tourist spots, commercial and business regions, and high-end residential areas around the city center. Seven high-presence districts (more than 5%) and seven mediumpresence districts (2.5–5%) have emerged around these areas. Thus, they represent a risk for rental housing market distortion at the local level.