Professional Documents
Culture Documents
User Analysis of Peer-To-Peer Accommodation Stakeholders
User Analysis of Peer-To-Peer Accommodation Stakeholders
2 Executive summary
4 Methodology
Research design 4
Limitations 5
6 Impact of peer-to-peer accommodations on different stakeholders
Peer-to-peer accommodation platforms 6
Housing sector 6
Public sector 7
Key points 8
10 Data that would help stakeholders make decisions
11 Potential ideas that use data to improve regulation of the sector
Key points 11
12 General public view on peer-to-peer accommodation platforms
13 Conclusion
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 1
Executive summary
The Open Data Institute is looking into ways that data can
help improve the peer-to-peer accommodation sector.
1
Answer from one of our Guerrilla interview questions: Do you think p
eer accommodation platforms are a good thing?
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 2
Some highlighted the impact of being unable to access information that platforms
held information they believed would help them understand the sector and
improve their services. For instance, firefighters said that they could learn more
about each homes usage and prevent incidents more easily.
We also discovered that bluelight services, namely fire services, considered data
from peer-to-peer accommodation platforms could help them to address
concerns around ensuring safety and preventing fires. They also thought that data
on property use across cities could help them assess the impact that platforms
may have on their services, such as whether there is a correlation between
properties let through peer-to-peer accommodation platforms and reported
incidents.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 3
Methodology
Research design
The ODI chose to conduct both semi-structured and guerilla interviews, to gain
macro and micro insights of the peer-to-peer accommodation sector.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 4
Limitations
Although we found answers to our research questions, there are some limitations
to keep in mind. The freedom and flexibility of semi-structured interviews have
their disadvantages because they make direct comparison of answers difficult,
since each interview is unique.
Taking this limitation into account, we were still able to collate a wide range of
answers.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 5
Impact of peer-to-peer
accommodation
As mentioned in the methodology section, we identified
stakeholders as peer-to-peer accommodation platforms,
lettings agencies, specific representation groups, bluelight
services, local government, businesses, media and national
statistics representatives.
We found that peer-to-peer platforms were aware of both the positive and
negative impacts they had on others. One of the people we interviewed from a
platform described their business as creating benefits for businesses, workers
and consumers by building better regulation and more trust across the whole
sector. This platform stated that their business intention was to emphasise
accountability, instead of trackability, while having hosts and guests identity and
reputation publically accessible, in a similar way to credit checks.
However, platforms also have found there to be conflicts of interest with local
authorities. For example, one platform said that the problem they encountered
when they started speaking with cities was that although they do not support
professional home-sharing, they want to be notified when people start moving to
professional home-sharing. Indeed, local authorities expressed that they wanted
to be alerted, even though the platforms representative added that home-sharing
only affected 1% of housing in London. We could assume in this context that
professional home-sharing would refer to hosts whose revenue mostly relies on
renting out properties.
Housing sector
Of all the sectors affected by the emergence of peer-to-peer accommodation
platforms, housing is clearly the most obvious, as the availability of housing to
local people is likely to be affected. However, our findings show that real estate
agents do not consider peer-to-peer accommodation services to be a challenge
for their business and specific representation groups are keen to get a better
understanding of them.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 6
Similarly, another agent said they did not see the impact peer-to-peer
accommodation could have on their industry, as their target customers were
tenants looking for a much longer renting period and more secured deals, which
differs to the current target market of the peer-to-peer sector. A lettings agency
founder commented: I dont see those peer-to-peer platforms as providing a
housing solution, so we are not competing. Peer-to-peer businesses target
short-term lets, such as travellers, whereas estate agents look for more long-term
and sustainable housing.
Public sector
We discovered the peer-to-peer accommodation sector might impact the public
sector. An interviewee from the fire services said that people renting on
peer-to-peer platforms were less informed about safety implications, less familiar
with their environment and less careful than permanent renters or owners. The
representative of a company using smart data to help firefighters said that many
people in the city did not treat homes rented through peer-to-peer
accommodation platforms as their own, which made them more careless. The
interviewee later suggested the need for peer-to-peer landlords to be educated on
fire safety, and that the responsibility must be taken by government.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 7
the city. The interviewee also stressed that the situation in their UK city is
problematic since they have limited powers to create new housing regulations,
and depend on negotiations with central government. They said that even if there
are regulations there is no enforcement from local authorities as long as they do
not encounter problems.
Many said they believed that people using peer-to-peer accommodation platforms
for long-term lets are decreasing the number of properties available on the market.
A representative from a local authority said that a few of the boroughs had
researched this and observed a reduction of permanent homes to rent, but it
remained difficult to determine a real cause.
One city is carrying out a massive push to reduce homelessness and its mayor
wants to meet the target of having no more rough sleepers by 2021. A
representative of the city put forward that peer-to-peer services should take into
account the social implications of increasing levels of short-lets in a city. In order
to solve the homelessness issue, they expressed their will to encourage
accommodation platforms to offer a homeless person a home for a number of
days. The representative suggested that hosts renting out their place for 180 days
a year could offer 2 nights to a homeless person as a tax.
15% of all stakeholders said they believed that those platforms could make
society better. One commented that peer-to-peer platforms rating system could
affect society positively, as hosts and renters could give each other ratings.
Therefore neighbours of peer-to-peer properties should also be able to voice their
opinions about guests; for example, a platform that we interviewed has set up a
complaints page for neighbours for this purpose. Hosts would then ensure that
their guests behaved in line with neighbours wishes, which would foster better
relations.
Key points
Our findings show that the platforms interviewed were conscious about their
positive and negative impact on the sector. They said that they did not believe it is
their role to enforce regulations and think that the government should do so.
Lettings agents feel neutral towards the situation as they do not see peer-to-peer
accommodation platforms as their competitors.
Fire services representatives acknowledge that their insights into the potential
impact of peer-to-peer accommodation platforms on safety are low. They would
need to have more data about the use of each property in order to analyse and
see whether there is a correlation. Besides this, bluelight services are keen to
support and educate landlords regarding safety procedures but suggest that the
government take responsibility for it.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 8
The majority of the participants were hopeful and see the peer-to-peer
accommodation sector as having the potential to improve society. One believed
that the peer-to-peer rating system of platforms could make people more
conscious about their actions and thus make society better. In addition to that,
another stakeholder suggested that these services could serve as a temporary
housing solution for homeless people.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 9
Similarly, councils disclosed that they would want to have some central resources
to be able to check regularly, to see what homes are rented and for which period
of time and to understand the real impact of the peer-to-peer accommodation
platforms in their cities. Some are simply curious about the type of data that
peer-to-peer platforms are ready to share. For example, one of the interviewees
said they would be interested in the type of data that they could collect directly
from them.
Regarding platforms, they stated that they would want to learn more about
short-term rental stakeholders, as they are a new industry. They also said they
were interested in local reports in order to understand local pressures in different
cities and towns, as well as a proof of residency of their users.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 10
Key points
In order to reinforce the 90-day rule in London, platforms and the housing sector
suggest that landlords register and get a license from local authorities, so that
data about the use of each property could be generated.
One recommended using existing regulation systems in order to save time, others
support testing and experimenting with new systems or new designs. Another
suggested that platforms should be trusted and given more time and space to be
self-regulated.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 11
As for those who have never used the service before, a small amount said they
would prefer hotels because they were more comfortable and could be booked
within a short notice. Many reported that they simply have not yet had the
opportunity to use the service, as they either did not travel often or did not have a
spare room to rent out.
Many people answered that they could not see or were unaware of any problems
that those platforms could cause. Some had heard or had themselves had bad
experiences with peer-to-peer accommodation platforms and one would not want
to rent out their own place due to trust and convenience issues.
A few people were concerned about rooms not meeting standards such as
cleanliness or expectations set by pictures and online descriptions. Some also
thought that living with a host could cause problems, as hosts and guests may not
get along. Others worried about safety during their stay, and some shared that
cancellations made by either hosts or guests could also be troublesome.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 12
Conclusion
This piece of research is part of the overall work the ODI is currently doing in
finding ways for data to be used to help make better decisions in the peer-to-peer
accommodation sector.
During a discovery phase (starting in summer 2017), the ODI has been doing some
desk research around examples of policies being implemented around the world
(what they were focussing on, how data was referred to). Based on a combination
of the policy research and this stakeholder user needs research, the ODI identified
areas of opportunity to progress in the next alpha phase of the project. The
opportunity areas represent topics where the ODI could focus its efforts during the
second and final phase of the project.
Several ideas were tested during workshops with various stakeholders in October
2017. Based on the feedback received, the ODI will focus on specific
opportunities such as working around portability of reputation between platforms,
creating a data observatory to measure the impact of the sector, finding ways for
local data to be shared in a standardised way with hosts and guests, or working
around risks based on an overview of complaints collected. Well be sharing more
on this work very soon.
The ODI will continue to work openly and publish research findings as well as
regular project updates.
Open Data Institute 2017 / Case Study User analysis of peer-to-peer accommodation stakeholders 13