International Sharing Economy: the Case of AirBnB in the Czech Republic
International Sharing Economy: the Case of AirBnB in the Czech Republic

Summary/Abstract: The concept of the sharing economy in accommodation business, an explosively growing business model, influences housing and hotel markets worldwide. The aim of this paper is to investigate the size of the AirBnB sector in Prague, to identify a potential disruption of the accommodation market and the potential scale of tax evasion of the AirBnB users, to state the need for additional regulation in this field. The research data were collected using the method of webscrapping from AirBnb website, then validated using the AirDNA database (18 586 units, 1 048 585 records, April 2016 to March 2017). The tax evasion was measured through authors’ own model. The main results are as follows: through the offer of accommodation via AirBnB platform in Prague is extensive and compatible with the capacity of Prague hotels; the average occupancy rate in Prague is highly above the values of 14 largest European cities; 80% of the real estate units offered through the AirBnB platform do not represent the case of the usual sharing economy, but are a subject to taxes. The data on Prague substantially outstrips the European average, thus indicating to a potentially significant misuse of the AirBnB platform and a low-scale associated potential tax evasion. Czech legislation is well prepared for sharing economy. 7.4% of the AirBnB users control 39.56% of all accommodation options offered via this platform in Prague.

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