Assignment- Air BnB and other Market Sharing Companies
Instructions: You are required to answer the following questions. You should save your answers in a Word document for submission. Please do not repeat the questions on your answer sheet. Instead, please list the answers numerically/sequentially by simply utilizing 1, 2, 3, and 4. Each assignment must have a cover page listing your name, the name of the assignment, and the date. The cover page does not count towards the word count. For each assignment, you are expected to answer the assigned questions in your own words. Each assignment paper should be at least 250 words. Papers less than the required 250 words will get zero. This does not mean each question requires a 250-word response; rather, the total number of words for answering the questions must total more than 250 words.
Task- Read the assigned articles then answer the questions/prompts below.
The sharing economy has become a bone of contention as it has become a disruptive force in numerous industries, particularly the taxi industry thanks to Uber and Lyft, which has been protected from competition by state and local laws. Protectionism, as any Economics 101 student could attest, leads to poor services, lack of innovation and poor pricing. Companies like Lyft and Uber have created competition where it was essentially was non- existent and the existing taxi industry has been forced to respond to the altered competitive landscape.
The philosophical debate over Airbnb other aspects of the sharing economy typically divide along the political (red and blue) axis. Free market advocates have quickly fallen in love with these companies, seeing them as the marketplace in action, while progressives tend to deride the "sharing" economy as an attack on labor unions that will choke off local government from the critical tax revenue it garners from traditional hotels. Unsurprisingly, Hillary Clinton has promised to get government heavily involved in regulating different aspects of sharing economy companies.
Questions/prompts
Free market advocates have quickly fallen in love with the market sharing companies (e.g., AirBnB, Uber), seeing them as the marketplace in action, while progressives tend to deride the "sharing" economy as an attack on labor unions that will choke off local government from the critical tax revenue it garners from traditional hotels.
1. Defend your position: Are you for or against market sharing companies/economies (free market or progressive) Why or why not?
2. Is market sharing companies and economies good or bad for tourism and travelers? Why or why not?
Sample Reflection Paper Format/Outline
• The following outline should be used for your reflection paper. You are not required to use the titles (e.g., Brief Introduction, Body, etc.) but should use this general format when writing your paper.
• Cover Page?o Titleofpapertoincludethefollowing:
o Reflection Paper Title?o Student Name and ID?o Course Title and Section?o Professor Name and Title?o Due Date of Submission
• Main Paper?o BriefIntroduction- Introduce the topic to the reader and summarize your reflection of this topic/article.
o Body- Address the following prompts as prescribed in the assignment. ?Include 3-4 examples for each prompt
o Conclusion- Conclude the reflection paper by summarizing your comments and main points to the reader.
o References?- Include any references that were used in your reflection paper ?including the main authors. Use APA style.
Read these 3 articles, and please focus your reflection paper on the impact of BOTH the tourism industry and local cities housing shortage.
Articles:
1. How S.F.'s Airbnb listings skirt law, affect housing, yet win fans By Carolyn Said.
2. Airbnb loses thousands of hosts in SF as registration rules kick in By Carolyn Said.
3. Airbnb - Not Quite The Simple Sharing Economy Company by Christopher Versace.