Towards an understanding of the regional impact of Airbnb in Ireland

Abstract

This paper considers the linkages between the home-sharing platform Airbnb and the housing crisis in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), in Ireland. This area is in the midst of a housing crisis, with a significant undersupply of housing units and rising unaffordability, especially the city of Dublin. While the sharing economy, better exemplified here by Airbnb, has become a major part of the global economy, it is less clear what is the regional impact of Airbnb, an online platform that allows people rent out part or all of their home for short stays. Among the claimed benefits for the tourism sector there are concerns that home sharing removes potential housing supply from the private rental sector to the short-term rental sector, which could aggravate the housing shortage. Along these lines, this paper documents this contemporary urban spatial issue, using rental asking prices data and data from Airbnb listings. The study does not intend to criticize the sharing platforms themselves but rather their disruptive impact and the short-term rental market within a digital economy context more widely. It is found that whilst not the only factor for the current housing crisis in Greater Dublin, Airbnb’s presence in the short-term housing is a vivid element of the current housing crisis in the country, which poses challenges for regulators and home seekers.