Social consequences of airbnb – a New Zealand case study of cause and effect

Abstract

This study of impacts of Airbnb in a small coastal town in New Zealand was initiated by a need to create housing for those displaced during the summer. The research involved a survey of approximately one-quarter of the households and detailed interviews with 25 local respondents. It was found that approximately 17% of households experienced household stress due to housing costs. However, it was concluded that the impact of Airbnb, while highly visible, is a symptom of wider social factors than simply being a cause of immediate in housing usage and impacting hotel occupancy rates. Context is important in terms of communal ties and residents’ senses of place as short-term occupancy of property becomes a norm. The wider housing market is a determinant of rents and differences between seasonal daily rents derived from tourists and those paid by more stable renters. The de-industrialisation of cities for gentrification has become the de-urbanisation of leisure and a desire for landscape rich destinations, made easier by physical accessibility by transport and informational accessibility through the internet. It is also the outcome of political processes.