In a recent article for Diginomica, Gail Moody (@gailmoody) discusses her appreciation for the collaborative economy, particularly with the services provided by Airbnb, and its ability to bring opportunities and wealth to the disconnected people of the world.
Marketplaces like Airbnb monetize underutilized resources and enable transactions that benefit both the buyer and the seller. Moody used Airbnb to rent Precioso Casa in Rio Dulce, Guatemala from a native Guatemalan named Alejandro. As the buyer, she benefitted from a remarkable vacation experience, and as the seller, Alejandro benefitted from a wage-earning opportunity. Though not everyone can say the same, Moody had an exceptional Airbnb experience, with the rental package including the services of a man named Neto and his family, such as: transportation, food, home-cooked meals and guided access to local attractions.
Because of the power of the sharing economy, Alejandro was able to go from occasional renters during holiday times to year-round bookings. In his words,
“The existence of Airbnb has allowed me to connect my remote tropical home with travelers seeking to live like a local. I’ve gone from five rentals per year to five rentals in the first three months offering my house in Airbnb. Right now I have seven months using Airbnb and have received ten visitors. Prior to using Airbnb, Neto’s salary was only for taking care of my house. Now, Neto not only receives his salary, he and his wife also receive a percentage of the income from the rentals. Most of our visitors also give them a tip for the excellent service he and his family provides.”
The collaborative economy runs by using every resource available to us on this planet for economic gain, and with that also comes connections and a new level of access. For example, in the case of Neto and his family, because of the power of the sharing economy they can now connect with travelers from very different backgrounds who have disposable income and were previously beyond reach as a prospective client. These clients probably used to stay at big hotel chains, but because of businesses like Airbnb, Neto has the chance to interact and meet more connected and wealthy people - thereby introducing him to a world of possibilities which he had never before interacted with.
Many large corporations and enterprises are now looking for ways to enter and interact in this economy. Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) said:
“Towards the end of 2014 we saw a significant increase in adoption in part from Uber’s API which led several partnerships, and Lyft’s aggressive partnerships in early 2015. What corporations are doing… they’re deploying what we call as “Brand as a Service” which include on-demand models, such as Whole Foods partnering with Instacart, rental models like BMW’s DriveNow program. Corporations are also launching their own marketplaces, such as Cisco’s used networking marketplace, Patagonia’s used apparel store, and Ikea’s marketplace of used goods, or sponsoring the startups with advertising, or co-marketing such as Lyft and MasterCard for “Priceless Rides”, or KLM partnering with Airbnb to offer a unique airline apartments for rent.”
While there are many haters of the sharing economy who are convinced it’s doing more harm than good, there is still a lot to be optimistic about. There is potential for many sectors of the global economy and the humans attached to them to benefit - but, business models and relationships with communities and competitors still need to be tweaked. For right now, we can celebrate the economic expansion that this economy is driving, particularly in places where the disconnected are enjoying wealth that was previously beyond reach.
